Читать книгу Pathy's Principles and Practice of Geriatric Medicine - Группа авторов - Страница 85

When appraising patients’ psychological well‐being, it can be helpful to take a lifespan perspective and contextualize the individual against the typical developmental challenges of their current stage in life. Such perspective often provides insight into typical psychological conflicts that an individual might be struggling with. One of the most cited psychological theories of lifespan development proposed that individuals progress through eight distinct psychosocial stages (Erikson & Erikson, 1998). Each stage is defined by a basic conflict that purportedly must be resolved in order to move to the next stage. Erikson’s theory states that younger years are concerned with developing a basic understanding of the self in the world and developing personal identity. Age 40 marks the beginning of the middle adulthood stage, where the concern is to create something that is valuable and provides good in the world. These are typically the years of having families and developing a career. By their mid‐60s, individuals enter into the stage of ‘Maturity’. This is a period of reflecting on the prior events of their lives, both celebrating achievements and coming to terms with regrets, all in search of a sense of fulfilment. Meaning‐making is undertaken retrospectively. When life is perceived positively, feelings of satisfaction arise. However, when life is perceived negatively, a sense of despair and bitterness can prevail, which may lead to depression. These stages provide a larger framework within which to view individual characteristics and personality traits.