Psychosocial Development in Young Adulthood

1 Psychosocial Development in Young Adulthood Understanding development across the lifespan is an exciting experience and relatable to my life in different milestones. While I can relate to all the stages of Erikson's psychosocial development theory up to the young adulthood stage, I find the intimacy versus isolation stage that happens in early adulthood most relevant to me. According to Erickson’s theory of psychosocial development, the intimacy versus isolation stage happens between 18 and 40 years, an age bracket where people focus on forming intimate and long-lasting relationships. I am currently in this stage of development, and I can relate to several dimensions that relate to forming a loving and intimate relationship.

According to Erickson’s theory of psychosocial development, people between 18 and 40 years focus on establishing intimate and long-lasting relationships that manifest in marriages, a happy family life, and social connectedness (Umaña‐Taylor et al., 2014). People who are successful in establishing relationships end up being content with life. In contrast, those who do not establish love and intimate relationships end up isolated, marked by fear of commitments and avoidance of intimacy. In extreme cases where people can hardly establish meaningful relationships, loneliness and depression may manifest, hindering the development of the virtue of love.

I am currently in the intimacy versus isolation stage, where the most critical factors in my life are family and social connections. I invest a lot of time in building love relationships, including intimate relationships, family relationships, and relationships with friends, yet, when such relationships are not working as anticipated. I tend to develop feelings of isolation and anxiety. This is especially in cases of breakage of love relationships, which hinder me from effectively transitioning to new relationships.

2 Arguably, a successful transition to the isolation versus intimacy stage is subject to effective mastery of the previous stage of Identity formation, which happens during adolescence. The identity versus isolation stage of psychosocial development happens between 12 and 18 years and involves the individual search for personal identity through a comprehensive exploration of personal beliefs, capabilities, goals, and values (Hoare, 2008).

The ability to form self-identity is paramount in enabling an individual to form relationships and fit in society during adulthood. Individuals must understand their societal roles in the sexual and occupational contexts and reexamine who they are. Effective mastery and transition from the identity versus confusion stage manifest inappropriate fit into society, including an ability to form and maintain love relationships during young adulthood. Whereas I established my identity, capabilities, and career field during adolescence, I did not focus on social growth and development and hardly made friends. Not being able to master one’s responsibilities in society shows role confusion and inability to challenge transitioning to later stages of life. This has partially led me to an identity crisis marked by multiple failed relationships that have affected my ability to master the intimate versus isolation stage in young adulthood.

I am determined to transition from the intimacy versus isolation stage successfully. I recognize that establishing and maintaining relationships is necessary for a fulfilling life as a young adult and to avoid fixations and desperation in middle and later adulthood. For example, the generativity versus stagnation state in the middle adulthood stage focuses on nurturing and creating things that outlast an individual, including mentoring the young generation and contributing positively to social growth and development (Infurna, 2021). At

3 this stage, an individual focuses on contributing to society. Through generativity, a state of fulfillment in life is achieved.

On the contrary, failing to contribute to social and family wellness leads to stagnation and feelings of disconnectedness from one's social environment. This would lead to despair in late adulthood, where one regrets not living their life to fulfillment. For example, adults who did not establish positive social ties with family members regret not living to fulfillment and have nothing to celebrate in late adulthood. They end up dying in desperation. I want to experience ego integrity and celebrate my life in old age as a result of having fulfilled all developmental tasks.

The psychosocial knowledge on how one develops through the life span and the importance of mastering activities in one developmental stage for an effective transition to later stages is paramount to live a fulfilling life at every stage, identify probable mistakes, and correct them to avoid any form of fixations or regrets. As a young adult, I am determined to build my inner environment by building my personal and social identity and completing my responsibilities in the social setting. I am also determined to establish and sustain a stable family marked by long-lasting, intimate, and loving relationships that will enable me to successfully transition to middle and late adulthood.

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References Hoare, C. (2008). Models of adult development in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory and Erikson's biopsychosocial life stage theory: Moving to a complete three-model view. In Handbook of research on adult learning and development (pp. 90–124). Routledge.

Infurna, F. J. (2021). Utilizing principles of lifespan developmental psychology to study the complexities of resilience across the adult life span. The Gerontologist, 61(6), 807-818.

Umaña‐Taylor, A. J., Quintana, S. M., Lee, R. M., Cross Jr, W. E., Rivas‐Drake, D., Schwartz, S. J., ... & Ethnic and Racial Identity in the 21st Century Study Group. (2014). Ethnic and racial identity during adolescence and into young adulthood: An integrated conceptualization. Child development, 85(1), 21–39.