Intimacy, Individual Differences Related to

Erikson's Life-Span Approach to Intimacy

According to Erik Erikson's life-span model of psychosocial development, individuals go through a series of eight stages during their lives, each of which is marked by a conflict that must be resolved. Successful resolution of each stage leads to a positive outcome, whereas unsuccessful resolution leads to ongoing challenges with that particular task (e.g., trust vs. mistrust).

Considerable research on Erikson's life-span model has focused on the two key tasks worked on during adolescence: forming a stable identity (Stage 5 in Erikson's model) and, subsequently, forming intimate relationships (Stage 6). During early adolescence, individuals face the task of Ego Identity versus Role Confusion, in which they must develop a sense of individual identity or remain confused about defining themselves. Only those who have successfully developed a sense of identity are able to move on and effectively pursue the task as the next stage: Intimacy versus Isolation. In this stage, individuals evaluate potential romantic partners and whether they are interested in settling down. Because the theory of life stages proposes that an individual's capacity for intimacy depends at least partially on successful resolution of tasks from earlier stages, including identity, individuals who have [Page 925]not yet reached closure in identity formation, meaning they have not successfully resolved their identities, may not be ready to merge their evolving identities with another. In line with this view, research indicates that those who form stable identities in adolescence are also most likely to form intimate attachments in early adulthood.

Erikson's view that individuals must form stable identities prior to attempting to merge those identities with another person in their pursuit of intimacy has received some criticism. In particular, some researchers believe that this model appropriately describes the connection between identity and intimacy for men, but believe it is less appropriate for describing how women work on these tasks. For example, Carol Gilligan theorizes that women are more likely to work on intimacy prior to forming a stable identity, and that this work on intimacy may even help women define themselves.

Successful resolution of both the Ego Identity versus Role Confusion and the Intimacy versus Isolation tasks can be measured using either a semistructured interview or a self-report questionnaire. The semistructured interview examines individuals' attitudes and behaviors toward intimate relationships. The self-report questionnaire consists of 12 items assessing each of the stages and assesses whether individuals have successfully resolved a given task.

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