CHILD ADO ERIKSON

Trust vs. Mistrust

• Virtue: Hope

• The belief that, even when things are not going well, they will work out in the end.

• Maladaptation: Sensory Maladjustment

• Overly trusting, gullible, unable to believe that anyone would mean harm.

• Malignancy: Withdrawal

• Characterized by depression, paranoia, and possibly psychosis.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

• Virtue: Willpower or Determination

• A “can do” attitude.

• Maladaptation: Impulsiveness

• Shameless willfulness that leads to jumping into things without proper consideration.

• Malignancy: Compulsiveness

• Feels everything must be done perfectly; mistakes must be avoided at all costs.

Initiative vs. Guilt

• Virtue: Courage

• The ability to take risks and act despite a clear understanding of limitations and past failings.

• Maladaptation: Ruthlessness

• Heartless, unfeeling, and uncaring about who they step on.

• Malignancy: Inhibition

• The fear of failure and blame; “nothing ventured, nothing lost.”

Industry vs. Inferiority

• Virtue: Competency

• Maladaptation: Narrow Virtuosity

• Pushed into one area of competency, often at the expense of childhood.

• Malignancy: Inertia

• Those with inferiority complexes; “If at first you don’t succeed, don’t ever try again.”

Identity vs. Role Confusion

• Virtue: Fidelity

• The ability to live by society’s standards and find a place in the community.

• Maladaptation: Fanaticism

• Belief that one’s way is the only way, promoting their views without regard for others’ rights to disagree.

• Malignancy: Repudiation

• Rejecting membership in the adult world and denying the need for an identity.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

• Virtue: Love

• Includes love in marriage, friendship, and community relationships.

• Maladaptation: Promiscuity

• Becoming intimate too freely, easily, and without depth.

• Malignancy: Exclusion

• Isolating oneself from love, friendship, and community, often developing hatefulness as compensation for loneliness.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

• Virtue: Caring

• Maladaptation: Overextension

• Neglecting personal time to overly care for others.

• Malignancy: Rejectivity

• No longer participating in activities or contributing to society.

Integrity vs. Despair

• Virtue: Wisdom

• Maladaptation: Presumption

• Presuming ego integrity without facing the challenges of old age, believing oneself to be unquestionably correct.

• Malignancy: Disdain

• Contempt for life, becoming negative and appearing to hate life.

This structure organizes each stage clearly by virtue, maladaptation, and malignancy for better understanding and reference.