Page 175 - Meeting with Children Book

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Generally, the number of close friendships decline
(acquaintances increase) but the ones that continue are
trustworthy and intimate. During late adolescence, peers
tend to replicate what appears to be a second family that
provides significant emotional support. This is more
apparent if the youth comes from a conflict ridden family
or if he/she does not live with his/her family based on
school etc.

Erikson (1950, 1959, 1968) developed a theory that
identifies eight stages in which a healthy developing person
passes through from infancy to late adulthood. It is thought
that all stages are present at birth but only begin to unfold
with one's ecological and cultural upbringing. At each stage,
the person confronts and hopefully masters new
challenges. Each stage builds on the successful completion
of the earlier one. It is theorized that if one does not meet
the challenge of a stage in a positive way, that stage will
reappear later as a social-emotional problem. If mastery of
a stage does not occur, one can move to the next stage and
be modified later.

Each stage is characterized by a psychosocial crisis of two
conflicting forces. If an individual does indeed successfully
reconcile these forces (favoring the first mentioned
attribute in the crisis), he or she emerges from the stage
with, for example, more trust than mistrust. If this occurs,
he or she carries the virtue of the ability to approach
relationships and life in a trusting manner into the
remaining life stages.

Erikson's Stages:
Birth - 18 months: Trust vs. Mistrust
18 months - 3 Autonomy vs. Shame
years: and Doubt