This is a picture of sisters entering adulthood, who sometimes feel isolated due to intimacy. They are afraid of rejections such as being turned down or their partners breaking up with them. Intimacy versus isolation is the sixth stage of Erik Eriksons theory of psychosocial development. During this period of time, the major conflict centers on forming intimate, loving relationships with other people.
Intimacy is defined as the ability to experience an open, supportive, tender relationship with another person without fear of losing one’s own identity in the process. Isolation is the crisis resolution in which situational factors or a fragile sense of self leads a person to remain psychologically distant from others. The psychosocial theory addresses growth across the lifespan, identifying and differentiating central issues from infancy through old age. A developmental stage is a period of life that is characterized by a specific underlying organization. While psychosocial theory is often presented as a series of neatly defined, sequential steps, it is important to remember that each stage contributes to the next. For example, Erikson believed that having a fully formed sense of self (established during the identity versus confusion stage) is essential to being able to form intimate relationships. Studies have demonstrated that those with a poor sense of self tend to have less committed relationships and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression.