engleski

Interrelations of Erikson's personality components and their role in prediction of some aspects of psychological functioning in midlife and older adults

The objective of this study was to assess components of personality emerging from first seven developmental stages according to Erikson's theory, and to explore the nature of their interrelations among midlife and older adults. The relationships of these seven components (trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, identity, intimacy and generativity) with some aspects of psychological functioning of adult subjects, i.e. their life satisfaction and perception of personal (in)competence, as a key dimension of self-esteem, were also examined. 108 middle aged adults (aged 37-50, M=42.8) and 86 older adults (aged 60-70, M=64.1) participated in the study. The variables were measured using Erikson Scale (Ochse and Plug, 1986), Satisfaction with Life Scale (Cantril, 1965) and Incompetence Scale (Bezinovic, 1988). The results of correlation analyses partly confirmed Erikson's personality components and their hypothesized interrelations. Contrarily to the expectations, significant age and sex differences in Erikson's personality components were not found (except in trust component). Results of regression analyses lend support to Erikson's suggestions about positive impact of successful resolutions of psychosocial crises on psychological functioning. Intimacy and productivity were the best predictors of life satisfaction and perception of personal (in)competence among all of Erikson's personality components.

Erikson's personality components; life satisfaction; perception of personal (in)competence; adulthood

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