(a) His mother was anxious and ineffective. He mistrusts other people, and his ego did not develop the quality of hope. (See sections 1, 2, and 4 of the Appendix.) (b) He has severe doubts about his...

(a) His mother was anxious and ineffective. He mistrusts other people, and his ego did not develop the quality of hope. (See sections 1, 2, and 4 of the Appendix.) (b) He has severe doubts about his ability and lacks will power and purpose. The episode described in section 3 of the Appendix occurred during one of these stages. (c) This is clearly shown by his preference for isolation. (d) Our society stresses initiative and independence, especially (albeit unfairly) with regard to men. Yet his parents consistently approved of submissiveness, and they reacted harshly to many of his attempts at independence. (e) Some of these events did not occur at the ages, or in the order, predicted by Erikson. The tendency toward isolation was well established long before young adulthood, whereas signs of an identity crisis were visible before adolescence