Questionnaire developed from the work of Dr. Linda Zimmerman, Professor of Psychology and Student Development at Oakton Community College (http://www.oakton.edu/user/~lindaz/). Used w/permission. Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Past Self 1. Think of an important event in your childhood. What does this event tell you about yourself in terms of Erikson’s stages? My parents divorced when I was 3 years old. After that I had problems depending on others. I also developed the feeling that I needed to make everyone else happy and in doing so often times stressed myself out. It affected my relationship with my parents and my sister. I think that the closeness I had with my daddy led to jealousy on my mom’s part that combined with her desire to have a thin daughter caused her to pressure me to be thin. As a result I developed an eating disorder. I think the divorce of my parents affected the way I looked at myself and the world. It wasn’t until later in my life that I realized that I had to rise above the things that had happened to me. I had to overcome the victim mentality and move on with my life in order to be happy and successful in my personal and professional life. 2. Circle what you believe was your resolution at each of the psychosocial stages below and then give a reason for your choice: AGE STAGE WHY? 0 - 1 Trust vs. Mistrust I was a very happy baby and according to my parents never met a stranger. I would go to anyone and loved to smile and play. 1 - 3 Self-reliance vs. Self- doubt I often played by myself and would do things for myself as often as I could. My mom loves to tell the story of where I went into my room and crawled into my toy box and played till I fell asleep. I was easy to potty train and had no trouble learning developmentally. 3 - 6 Initiative vs. Guilt I think that I was a little of both. My parents divorced when I was 3. I remember them fighting a lot and thinking it was my fault. I tried to do things to make it better. After the divorce I tried to make each of my parents happy. 6 - 12 Industry vs. Inferiority During this period I was definitely both. With my daddy and step mom I got to explore things I loved to do like riding horses, pottery, fishing, camping and being outside. With my mom I was involved in church activities and plays. But also with my mom she would lecture me regularly about my weight and would make me feel like I was less than other girls because I was heavier than them. She would show me pictures of herself when she Questionnaire developed from the work of Dr. Linda Zimmerman, Professor of Psychology and Student Development at Oakton Community College (http://www.oakton.edu/user/~lindaz/). Used w/permission. was an overweight kid and ask “is this what you want to look like?” It made me very self- conscious and I developed an eating disorder at the age of 12. Adolescence Identity vs. Role Confusion ...

1. Questionnaire developed from the work of Dr. Linda
Zimmerman, Professor of Psychology and Student
Development at Oakton Community College
(http://www.oakton.edu/user/~lindaz/). Used w/permission.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
Past Self
1. Think of an important event in your childhood. What does
this event tell you
about yourself in terms of Erikson’s stages?
My parents divorced when I was 3 years old. After that I had
problems depending on
others. I also developed the feeling that I needed to make
everyone else happy and in
doing so often times stressed myself out. It affected my
relationship with my parents
and my sister. I think that the closeness I had with my daddy led
to jealousy on my
mom’s part that combined with her desire to have a thin
daughter caused her to
pressure me to be thin. As a result I developed an eating
disorder. I think the divorce
of my parents affected the way I looked at myself and the
world. It wasn’t until later
in my life that I realized that I had to rise above the things that
had happened to me. I
had to overcome the victim mentality and move on with my life
in order to be happy
and successful in my personal and professional life.

2. 2. Circle what you believe was your resolution at each of the
psychosocial stages below
and then give a reason for your choice:
AGE STAGE WHY?
0 - 1 Trust vs. Mistrust
I was a very happy baby and according to my
parents never met a stranger. I would go to
anyone and loved to smile and play.
1 - 3 Self-reliance vs. Self-
doubt
I often played by myself and would do things
for myself as often as I could. My mom loves
to tell the story of where I went into my room
and crawled into my toy box and played till I
fell asleep. I was easy to potty train and had
no trouble learning developmentally.
3 - 6 Initiative vs. Guilt
I think that I was a little of both. My parents
divorced when I was 3. I remember them
fighting a lot and thinking it was my fault. I
tried to do things to make it better. After the
divorce I tried to make each of my parents

3. happy.
6 - 12 Industry vs. Inferiority
During this period I was definitely both. With
my daddy and step mom I got to explore
things I loved to do like riding horses, pottery,
fishing, camping and being outside. With my
mom I was involved in church activities and
plays. But also with my mom she would
lecture me regularly about my weight and
would make me feel like I was less than other
girls because I was heavier than them. She
would show me pictures of herself when she
Questionnaire developed from the work of Dr. Linda
Zimmerman, Professor of Psychology and Student
Development at Oakton Community College
(http://www.oakton.edu/user/~lindaz/). Used w/permission.
was an overweight kid and ask “is this what
you want to look like?” It made me very self-
conscious and I developed an eating disorder
at the age of 12.
Adolescence Identity vs. Role
Confusion
During this time I had a lot of confusion about

4. my body image. I was raped at the age of 13
and it compounded with my eating disorder I
had a tendency to be depressed on the inside
while portraying that everything was ok on the
outside. I was torn between my Daddy’s house
and my mom’s house. I developed the idea
that I was responsible to make everyone happy
so that is what I tried to do. I had a great
group of friends but tended to go along with
the crowd rather than figure out who I really
was or what I was really feeling. I started
drinking at the age of 14 as a way to coping.
Young
Adulthood
Intimacy vs. Isolation
I had a great group of friends that I am still
friends with today. I had a wonderful
boyfriend who really helped me to deal with
the aspects of my rape and the drinking. I
wasn’t close to my mom during this time and
when I went to my Daddy’s house we were
close but I never told him what was really
going on with me. I think I was more isolated
from my mom but I was close to my
grandparents and my daddy. I got married
during this time and gave birth to my two
boys. At the end of this phase I got divorced
due to domestic violence and my ex signed
away his rights to my children. It was a
difficult time but I was able to lean on those
that I was closest with. I developed a better

5. self-image and was able to rise above a rocky
start to life.
Middle
Adulthood
Generativity vs.
Stagnation
This is the phase I am in now and it’s
GREAT! I spent ten years concentrating on
myself and my boys and two years ago I met
an amazing man and we were married last
June. We are working hard to provide a bright
future for our children. I also do a lot of
charity work to help those in need and to pay
forward all the kindness shown to me
throughout my life. I am incredibly close to
my sons and have an amazing relationship
Questionnaire developed from the work of Dr. Linda
Zimmerman, Professor of Psychology and Student
Development at Oakton Community College
(http://www.oakton.edu/user/~lindaz/). Used w/permission.
with my Daddy. I have been my mom’s
caregiver for the past 5 years while our
relationship is not perfect it is improved. And
I have been able to connect with some of my
uncles and cousins that I hadn’t really had
relationships with before. I am also closer to
my sister than I have been since we were kids.

6. And I have an active role in my three nephews
lives.
Late
Adulthood
Integrity vs. Despair
My husband and I have great plans for our
future. I am excited to see what the future
holds. I look forward to becoming a grandma
and seeing my children grow up, get married
and be successful.
3. What new insight do you have into your own development?
It is interesting to see how what happens to us shapes our
future. There was a period of
my life that I allowed the bad things that had happened to me
dictate my feelings on the
future. It took some time for me to realize that I am the one
with the power over my
future not past circumstances or events. Once I realized this I
was truly able to heal and to
move on to a brighter future.
Present Self
4. What is most important to you in your life right now? What
do you value?
My family is the most important thing in my life. I value my
time with them and
doing things for them that make us all happy. I also value
getting my education

7. because it will set my husband and I up for a better retirement.
5. If you are in Erikson’s “Identity vs. Role Confusion” stage:
How are you doing with this struggle? If you have passed that
stage, what stage are you
in, and how are you doing? Explain.
I am currently in the Generativity vs. Stagnation stage of my
life and I think I am doing
great. I have really come into my own over the past few years
and am working toward
creating a brighter future for me, my husband, our children and
our future grandchildren.
Going back to school after 14 years was a big decision but I am
happy I chose to do so. It
shows my children that it is never too late to do something to
improve your life.
Future Self
Questionnaire developed from the work of Dr. Linda
Zimmerman, Professor of Psychology and Student
Development at Oakton Community College
(http://www.oakton.edu/user/~lindaz/). Used w/permission.
6. What are your fondest future dreams (could be regarding
work, love, friendship,
community, religion, children, marriage, personal achievement,

8. wealth, material
possessions, etc.). In other words, how do you envision your
future life?
My husband and I have plans to semi retire in 8-10 years. We
want to move to the
coast and he will work in a refinery while I manage some
vacation rentals. We plan to
use the vacation rentals as our retirement plan. With them we
will have places for our
children and family to come and stay while they visit. Once we
reach actual
retirement age my husband will extend our business to include a
fishing guide
service. We plan to spend many days fishing, walking on the
beach and enjoying the
salty air and sunshine.
7. How can you be a generative adult? What current behaviors
if continued through
your adult years might lead you to stagnation?
Generative qualities you have now Stagnant qualities you have
now
I am very involved in my children’s lives
and those of their friends. I encourage them
to get a good education and am working on
teaching them to become productive
members of society. I also try and give
back to the community as much as I can by
volunteering or donating money or needed
items. I like to support our first responders
by dropping by and bringing them goodies
to let them know they are appreciated. We
also will anonymously pick up their lunch
or dinner tabs if we see police officers or

9. firefighters eating at the same restaurant as
us. I hope that I am teaching my kids the
importance of giving back by leading by
example.
The qualities I have that could cause
stagnation is that I expect people to treat
me as I treat them. When someone doesn’t
I tend to get my feelings hurt. I also have
high expectations of my children and I
have to make sure that I don’t push them so
hard that they give up and don’t do as well
as they can because I expect too much of
them. I also have a tendency to avoid
difficult people in my life and by doing so I
fail to nurture important relationships, such
as with my mom or my step daughters.