Paternal and Maternal Involvement in Respect to Erik Erickson’s Theory

Paternal and Maternal Involvement in Respect to Erik Erickson’s Theory

The first stage of Erik’s theory is examined in the study. It is stated that, in the course of the first stage, children tend to develop trust as their first activity in establishing their egos (Davis and Clifton, 1995). They also balance elements of trust and mistrust depending with the immediate maternal relationship. This is examined in the study given that mothers are fairly familiar with their children behavioral patterns especially the internalized behavioral patterns which children use to forecast about their abilities within the environment (Culp, Shadle, Robinson and Anne, 2000).

The second stage of the theory is manipulated extensively.  The second stage of the Erik’s theory is based on the autonomy versus shame and doubt. It is stated that whenever children are denied immense levels of autonomy they turn against their self-being and embarks on embracing elements of manipulation and discriminate (Davis and Clifton, 1995). Consequently, children develop shame and higher degree of doubt that facilitates self-consciousness.  This facet is expounded by the study through the positive relationship exhibited by paternal involvements in developing elements of self-competence and social acceptance. It is stated that fathers depict elements of self-confidence which is passed onto children especially sons in developing self-confidence (Culp et al., 2000).

The fifth stages, identity versus role confusion, of Erik Erickson’s theory are also manifested in the study. The stage postulates that adolescents are concerned with their manner of appearance. Their ego is accrued on the level of confidence gathered in respect to sameness and one’s meaning in respect to other people’s perspectives (Davis and Clifton, 1995). The study indicates that there is a positive relationship that emanates from paternal involvement with both the academic achievement and positive peer-relations. In this case, then, it is safe to postulate that the study strengthens the findings of Erik Erickson’s theory since there are distinctive relationships that are depicted by both the paternal and maternal involvements with respect to elements of behavioral patterns, self-competence and social acceptance amongst their children. Personally, I agree with the conclusions of the study given that the paternal involvements tend to affect the external behaviors of children in dual-career families. Therefore, fathers’ involvement in shaping-up their children’s behavioral patterns is increased whenever mothers embrace works which are placed far from their homes (Culp et al., 2000).

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