DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

in the interview. This may have led to cumulative grief and emotional upset, which
she described in nature to “borderline bereavement” that was perhaps more intense
and debilitating that the distress in other crises. She described being consumed by
grief and self-doubt for years after the second divorce. This chronic grief and selfdoubt
debilitated and precluded exploration or renovation. There was no sense of
liberation or renewal in breaking out of this second marriage, just a sense of intense
loss. She cited this as the key reason why she was unable to move on and develop a
new life structure for so long.
Claire shows that the course of crisis is by no means necessarily towards
growth and enhancing change – it is not some natural law. There can be systemic
constraints in life that can lead crisis down negative and even tragic paths, where the
growth and change that is required for resolution never occurs. It is hard to say what
proportion of crises end up this way, for it may be that such experiences are less likely
to be relayed to a psychology researcher. But the nature and causes of unresolved
crisis are issues that will continue to hold my attention as my research continues over
the forthcoming years.
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