The term "identity crisis" does not lend itself to a simple definition. In order to explain it, we need to recall the eight stages of the development of the Ego, described by Eric Erickson and representing a sequence of psychosocial crises. One such conflict that is characteristic of a person at a young age is the so-called identity against role-based diffusion, and an identity crisis can arise directly in the process of resolving this conflict.
Identity crisis and age crisis
Forming identity is a special process, during which each of the previous identifications is transformed in connection with changes in the prospective future. Identity begins to develop from infancy, and at the time of adolescence, there is often a crisis. It is known that in a democratic society the crisis manifests itself with greater force than in societies where the transition to adulthood is associated with certain compulsory rituals.
Often, young men and women seek to resolve the issue of self-determination as soon as possible and thus avoid a crisis. However, this leads to the fact that human potential remains uncovered until the end. Others solve this problem in their own way and stretch the crisis for too long, remaining in uncertainty. In some cases, the diffuse identity grows into a negative one, as a result of which a person eventually chooses a publicly defamed role and a role that contradicts the law. However, these are only isolated cases, and most people, according to the theory of the identity crisis of Erikson, choose one of the positive manifestations of their self for development.
The crisis of sexual identity
The crisis of identity is not just an age phenomenon. A crisis may arise, for example, of sexual identity, when a person stands at a crossroads and seeks to identify himself with one of the groups: heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual. Such a crisis most often occurs at a young age, but in some cases it is possible in an adult.
The crisis of gender identity
Gender identity is the self-determination of a person about belonging to a social role in a male or a female type. Previously it was believed that the psychic sex always coincides with the physical, but in modern life everything is not so simple. For example, when a father sits with children and a mother earns money, their gender role does not match the traditional biological role.