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Carol A. Markstrom,1 Vicky M. Sabino,2 Bonnie J. Turner,3 and Rachel C. Berman4
An underexamined component of Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory is the concept of ego strengths. The eight ego strengths are present throughout the life span, but each have their ascendance in conjunction with successful psychosocial stage resolutions. Upon careful analysis of Erikson's writings, the Psychosocial Inventory of Ego Strengths (PIES) was developed to assess this component of psychosocial theory. The measure was scrutinized by several Eriksonian scholars for its face and content validity. Then, two studies were conducted among college samples in the United States and Canada. Evidence for internal consistency was shown for the eight ego strengths, as well as on overall score. Convergent validity was shown between the PIES and assessments of identity achievement, self-esteem, purpose in life, internal locus of control, and sex roles. Discriminant validity was observed in negative correlations between the ego strengths and hopelessness, identity diffusion, identity moratorium, and personal distress. Suggestions for future research utilizing this measure are given.
INTRODUCTION
In his psychosocial theory of human development, Erik Erikson (1964a, 1985) introduces a conception of ego virtues or ego strengths. The terms "virtue" and "strength" appear to be used interchangeably by Erikson and seem to imply instinctual, inherent, and internal strengths gained only by healthy individuals. The ego strengths are underexamined components of Erikson's broader psychosocial theory of human development. The absence of scholarly discussion on this topic is significant because, theoretically, the ego strengths should provide evidence of successful psychosocial stage resolutions. That is, Erikson (1964a) asserts that eight distinct and essential ego strengths exist throughout the life cycle and that each strength demonstrates an ascendance in association with positive resolution of its corresponding psychosocial crisis. The ego strength of hope emerges from trust vs. mistrust in infancy, will emerges from autonomy vs. shame/doubt and purpose from initiative vs. guilt in early childhood, competence emerges from industry vs. inferiority during latency, fidelity emerges from identity vs. identity confusion in adolescence, love emerges from intimacy vs. isolation in young adulthood, care emerges from generativity vs. stagnation in adulthood, and wisdom emerges from integrity vs. despair in later adulthood (see Table I). Like the psychosocial stages, the ego strengths are thought to be sequential, invariant,...