Vaillant G E, Milofsky E
Am J Psychiatry. 1980 Nov;137(11):1348-59. doi: 10.1176/ajp.137.11.1348.
The authors examine Erikson's model of the life cycle by reviewing two 40-year prospective studies, one of 392 men from high-crime core-city neighborhoods and the other of 94 successful college students. The empirically defined developmental stage of each man at age 47 and many other facets of each man's life course were rated by judges blind to other data. The studies identified a well-defined, career consolidation stage that falls between Erikson's stages of intimacy and generativity. The results support three hypotheses. First, the stages of men's life cycle must be passed through sequentially; failure to master one stage usually precludes mastery of subsequent stages. Second, the age at which a given stage is mastered varies enormously. Third, the stage attained by middle life appears quite independent of childhood social class or education, although adult maturation is correlated with whether childhood was conducive to basic trust, autonomy, and initiative.
作者通过回顾两项为期40年的前瞻性研究，检验了埃里克森的生命周期模型。一项研究的对象是来自高犯罪率市中心社区的392名男性，另一项研究的对象是94名成功的大学生。由对其他数据不知情的评判者对每名男性在47岁时根据经验确定的发展阶段以及其人生历程的许多其他方面进行评分。研究确定了一个明确界定的职业巩固阶段，该阶段介于埃里克森的亲密阶段和繁衍阶段之间。研究结果支持三个假设。第一，男性生命周期的各个阶段必须依次经历；未能掌握一个阶段通常会妨碍对后续阶段的掌握。第二，掌握特定阶段的年龄差异极大。第三，中年时达到的阶段似乎与童年社会阶层或教育程度相当独立，尽管成人的成熟与童年是否有利于基本信任、自主和主动性相关。
