Age specific quality of integrity from the point of view of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development

Abstract

In investigation, which included 75 persons of both sexes from four age groups (adolescents, younger adults, middle-aged adults, and the elderly adults), it has been, on the example of integrity, Erikson's point of view that each component of personality characteristic for a particular stage of development is in a certain form present in a lifetime as an integral part of personality. Comparing the results of factor analyses of integrity scales (by G. Hawley) with subjects from the four named age groups, it can be concluded that there are age specific qualities of integrity. Those variations are consistent with Erikson's understanding that the basic subject of integrity is life evaluation. With adolescents and younger adults it is mostly evaluation of present, and with the elderly of past life. Besides, fragments whose contents indicate the shift from psychosocial towards existential identity are more important for middle-aged and older people than adolescents and younger adults. By multiple standard regression analyses the nature of relations of integrity with identity, intimacy and generativity has been investigated. With younger subjects these three components of personality considerably explain a higher percentage of integrity variance than with the older persons, indicating that with the younger ones integrity represents a more integrated system of personality components, and with older people it is a special entity, a characteristic component precisely for that age.