Intimacy vs. Isolation. According to Maria (1966) “identity achievement individuals have gone through a period of crisis and have made commitments to an occupation and ideology” (Adams & Kacerguis, 1980, p. 117). In this stage, adults seek meaningful relationships. Additionally, the goal of this stage is to “fuse identities” though intimacy (Adams & Kacerguis p. 118, 1980). During this time, she felt very isolated and alone living in the camps. However, she could form intimate relationships and bonds with friends she made during camp even though she
LIFE HISTORY INTERVIEW 7
felt isolated and alone in the harsh living situations. It was hard for her to live in these conditions because of racial discrimination.
Generativity Versus Stagnation. The “Generativity Versus Stagnation” stage of development occurs in middle adulthood (Craighead & Nemeroff, 2001, p. 514 ). This can be viewed as the stage when the time in the life span which one strives to actualize the identity that has been formed and shared with others (Craighead & Nemeroff, 2001, p. 514). In her middle adulthood, she fought for freedom and was an ambassador to try to end the fight if social justice. During this time, she also started a family and is the mother of 9 children. She also had a natural …show more content…
At this level, there are “clear efforts to define moral values and principles that have validity and application to authority groups” (Hersh, 1997, p. 55). This consist of stages 5 & 6. Stage 5 is “social contract and legalistic orientation” (Hersh, 1997, p. 55). In Cherry’s life when she was in the camp when people were in small groups, they were not considered a threat. However, when they were in big groups, they were a threat to the community. Stage 6, “is the universal ethical principle orientation” (Hersh p. 55 1997). In this stage, Cherry had a deep understanding of her own beliefs when she fought for political justice in some of