Identity: Youth and Crisis

One of Erikson’s contributions to psychoanalysis in the text is his explication of how, in his own words, the identity problem itself “changes with the historical period” (27). Identity, in Erikson’s view, is largely informed by social and cultural influences. Individuals understand themselves in relation to concepts like gender, class, race, occupation, and many more, and these concepts are defined within the various communities to which the individual belongs—from the immediate family to the nation. As history progresses, these contexts change, and the process of identity formation changes in turn.

Erikson states in Chapter 1 that the identity crisis in individual life and “contemporary crises in historical development” (22) help to define each other and are relative to each other. Historical events are as relevant to the concept of psychosocial relativity as the individual’s society. Wars, political revolutions, and moral rebellions shake the “traditional foundations of all human identity” (25). The author says that ideological and technological progress can do the same. In making these arguments, Erikson both responds to and anticipates the technological and cultural changes of the mid-20th century.

Wars affect identity development in multiple ways. Erikson argues that the then-ongoing war in Vietnam presents a destabilizing challenge to cohesive identity, both for those who serve in the war and for those who oppose it. Among veterans discharged for neuroses, he finds a loss of ego synthesis that is typified by anger and anxiety triggered by any intense sensory impression. He is describing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) well before it was recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980.

Political revolutions can affect an individual profoundly by instilling in them prototypes that are part of a group identity. Erikson gives examples of patients who suffered after coming to America because “historical prototypes” (56) formed in childhood caused conflicts in their adult lives. One was the man raised in a Jewish neighborhood who was bullied as a child for his religion and found himself reliving his fearful movements through the streets as an adult rancher in the American West.

Political movements also affect identity development, with totalitarian movements causing the most destructive effects. Erikson believes totalitarianism is rooted in a combination of sudden historical and economic shifts that favor a total state. An example is the rise of Hitler following Germany’s defeat in WWI. The one-party rule that regiments all aspects of life attracts individuals who have been traumatized in the past or are experiencing feelings of guilt or tension—especially adolescents. In Chapter 6 Erikson points out that underground movements can provide a positive way for young people to find the fidelity they seek as long as they are not exploited by demagogues.

Moral rebellions that proceed from the long oppression of a particular racial or ethnic group, such as the civil rights movement that is the focus of Chapter 8, also have a deep impact on the development of identity. Young people may immerse themselves in the movement so completely that these movements come to define an entire generation. At the same time, members of the oppressed group need to find a new identity within the movement, one that retains cultural customs. Erikson proposes an “inclusive” identity that fuses those of the dominant group and those that are reaching for a new identity. He wonders about the worldwide fate of postcolonial identities, especially in Africa and Asia—again, identifying a question that grips many writers and thinkers today.

Not all ideological change has a negative effect on identity development. Erikson gives as examples trends associated with technical and economic expansion, such as industrialization. Regarding technology, he observes that in his own time, the mid-1960s, rapid change already makes it impossible for a younger generation to step right into the older generation’s ways. He correctly predicts that aging will differ for those who find themselves “occupationally outdated” (38)—and in fact, numerous jobs that were typical in the 1960s, such as those of telephone operators and cashiers, have been replaced by automation and computerization.

In his conclusion Erikson says he has “gropingly” theorized that psychoanalytic concepts must change to adapt to new understandings of history. His ability to objectively analyze the effect of his own, constantly changing environment, and to place it within his theoretical framework, helps to explain the enduring legacy of his work.