Measuring Eriksonian Development in the Adult: The Modified Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory

Abstract

To measure psychosocial attributes that arise from progression through Erik Erikson's eight stages of development, a new inventory was developed by modifying the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory by Rosenthal, Gurney, and Moore, which assesses Erikson's first six stages of life cycle development. New scales were created to measure the last two stages. To conduct an empirically based revision and evaluate its psychometric qualities, the modified version and potential items for the two new scales were administered to a convenience sample of 168 men and women whose ages ranged from 19 to 86 yr. Alpha reliability coefficients for this 80-item instrument were trust .82, autonomy .84, initiative .78, industry .88, identity .83, intimacy .78, generativity .75, ego integrity .80, and .97 for the entire scale. The construct validity was indicated by positive correlations between chronological age and the attributes associated with adulthood, an increase in mean generativity and ego integrity levels with age, and an association between the strength of attributes and participation in regular exercise. Reliability and validity of this modified inventory were supported.