Integrity versus despair is the eighth and final stage of Erik Erikson’s stage theory of psychosocial development. This stage begins at approximately age 65 and ends at death. Psychologists, counselors, and nurses today use the concepts of Erikson's stages when providing care for aging patients. Show
Erikson’s theory suggests that people pass through eight distinctive developmental stages as they grow and change through life. While many developmental theories tend to focus purely on childhood events, Erikson was one of the few theorists to look at development across the entire course of the lifespan. He was also one of the first to view the aging process itself as part of human development. At each stage of psychosocial development, people are faced with a crisis that acts as a turning point in development. Successfully resolving the crisis leads to developing a psychological virtue that contributes to overall psychological well-being. At the integrity versus despair stage, the key conflict centers on questioning whether or not the individual has led a meaningful, satisfying life. What to Know
What Are Integrity and Despair?Integrity refers to a person's ability to look back on their life with a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Characteristics of integrity include:
Despair refers to looking back on life with feelings of regret, shame, or disappointment. Characteristics of despair include:
The integrity versus despair stage begins as the aging adult begins to tackle the problem of his or her mortality. The onset of this stage is often triggered by life events such as retirement, the loss of a spouse, the loss of friends and acquaintances, facing a terminal illness, and other changes to major roles in life. During the integrity versus despair stage, people reflect back on the life they have lived and come away with either a sense of fulfillment from a life well lived or a sense of regret and despair over a life misspent. Benefits of IntegrityThere are a number of benefits to successfully achieving feelings of integrity at this stage of life. These benefits include:
Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity. Successfully completing this phase means looking back with few regrets and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom, even when confronting death. CausesThere are a number of different factors that can influence the integrity versus despair stage of psychosocial development. Some factors that influence the outcome of this stage include:
Consequences of DespairDespair can have serious consequences for a person's health and well-being as they face the end of life. Research suggests that ego integrity and despair are important life-space development indicators of well-being. Some of the consequences of despair include:
Those who are unsuccessful during this phase will feel that their life has been wasted and will experience many regrets. The individual will be left with feelings of bitterness and despair. How to Improve IntegrityThis stage of psychosocial development often depends on many of the events that occurred during earlier periods of life. However, there are things that you can do to help develop a greater sense of ego integrity as you age.
How to Decrease DespairIf you find yourself experiencing a sense of despair as you age, there are steps that you can take to improve your well-being. Some of the steps you can take include:
A Word From VerywellAccording to Erikson's theory, individuals don't experience integrity or despair all the time. Instead, most healthy individuals experience a balance between each as they begin to make sense of their lives. Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Additional Reading
By
Kendra Cherry Thanks for your feedback! What is the only universal behavior change in older adults?The ONLY universal behavior change in aging that has been discovered is the fact that older adults: have slower reaction times.
What is the best example of a social convoy?Which is the best example of a "social convoy"? a bridge job.
What is the general age related pattern of creativity when defined?What is the general age-related pattern of creativity when defined by the overall number of ideas an individual generates? Lower in one's 30s, higher in one's 40s, declines thereafter. The rate of severe depression. declines between young adulthood and old age.
What is a common characteristic of the fourth age?One common characteristic of the fourth age is: a high level of dementia.
|