Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:1348-1359
Copyright © 1980 by American Psychiatric Association
Natural history of male psychological health: IX. Empirical evidence for Erikson's model of the life cycle
GE Vaillant and E Milofsky
The authors examine Erikson's model of the life cycle by reviewing two
40-year prospective studies, one of 392 men from high-crime core-city
neighborhoods and the other of 94 successful college students. The
empirically defined developmental stage of each man at age 47 and many
other facets of each man's life course were rated by judges blind to other
data. The studies identified a well-defined, career consolidation stage
that falls between Erikson's stages of intimacy and generativity. The
results support three hypotheses. First, the stages of men's life cycle
must be passed through sequentially; failure to master one stage usually
precludes mastery of subsequent stages. Second, the age at which a given
stage is mastered varies enormously. Third, the stage attained by middle
life appears quite independent of childhood social class or education,
although adult maturation is correlated with whether childhood was
conducive to basic trust, autonomy, and initiative.
