DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

isolated set of me-facts but is deeply inter-connected and relational (Andersen and
Chen, 2002), and is in fact better conceived as “self-with-other” knowledge. The self
system is also bound up with the reconciliation of dialectical opposites, between
which it must locate itself or move sequentially between over development, e.g.
autonomy vs. connectedness (Baxter and Montgomery, 1996). Much of adult
development of the self and the life story involves reconciling these opposites, while
moving to more integrated states of self-being and self-knowledge (Erikson, 1968).
2.8 The Effects of Crisis on the Self
Lifespan development literature mentions ways in which crisis (or related
concepts of trauma or severe stressful episodes) can influence the self (Nidorf, 1965;
Thurnher, 1983). The disruption of life caused by crisis leads to a reflection on both
of the questions that Rogers (1961) suggested we are continually attempting to answer
and re-answer throughout life: ‘who am I?’ and ‘who shall I become?’. Becker (1997)
suggests that people are more likely to question who they are when they are
confronted with a disruption to life. She emphasises that the self is a theory and a
simplified abstraction. When life gets difficult, it is a theory that comes under fire, for
it clearly didn’t predict the crisis, or the crisis would have been avoided (Taylor,
1989). While Erikson suggested that identity crises were the preserve of adolescence,
Marcia et al. (1993) found that throughout adulthood intermittent periods of
moratorium occur that permit higher levels of integration and individuation to be
sought, and permit separation from earlier commitments that might have been
appropriate for an earlier life structure but had become outdated. So for Marcia, the
discovery of self and identity is a lifelong task.
Porter, Markus and Nurius (1986) investigated the link between crisis and the
development of possible selves. They found that those that recover from a crisis and
those that do not recover develop a different set of possible selves. This is evidence
of a mutually-implicating relation between the self system and crisis episodes. Becker
(1997) concludes similarly that disruption can bring about renewed efforts at selfdiscovery
and concern about the interpersonal self. Marcia et al. (1993) also conclude
that a defining aspect of crisis is exploration of one’s identity through a moratorium in
which commitments are put on hold and possible selves are explored.
People report having become aware of previously suppressed aspects of
themselves during and after crisis, both positive and negative aspects (Denne and
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