Erikson: Identity Vs. Role Confusion

Erikson's Identity vs. Role Confusion (approximately 12 to 18 years) is the adolescent stage. The central task is forming a coherent sense of self — integrating past experiences, present roles, and future aspirations into an identity. When adolescents successfully explore and commit to values, roles, and a sense of who they are, they achieve identity. When they are unable to explore or when exploration is interrupted by illness, trauma, or over-control, role confusion results. Clinical significance: Adolescence is the most complex developmental stage for hospitalized patients. The nurse must navigate privacy, consent, confidentiality, body image, autonomy, peer influence, and the tension between parental involvement and adolescent independence. Learning objectives: - Identify the core developmental tasks of adolescence and their nursing implications - Apply privacy, confidentiality, and consent principles in adolescent nursing care - Recognize the impact of illness on body image and identity at this stage - Explore non-adherence to treatment in the context of adolescent development - Support adolescents with chronic illness in maintaining identity outside the 'sick role' On the exam, writers often pair stable-sounding options with **unstable...