Throughout one’s life an individual moves through various phases and within these phases are status passages which are all important in their own right. Status passages can include graduations, weddings, child births as well as other important life events that mark a transition from one particular social status to another. A significant status passage, which is often overlooked, occurs in the latter part of life. This is the act of moving into a nursing home because of physical or mental infirmity, a major status passage in its own right. Notwithstanding that this status passage takes place in late adulthood it is still a very important, influential and, for many, a highly disturbing identity shift. In this essay I will explore the concept of status passages in the context of a social interactionest framework, followed by an examination of the transition into nursing homes as a status passage that is separated into three main phases: separation; transition and reincorporation.
Status Passage
A noted French ethnographer and folklorist, Charles Arnold Van Gennep, recognized that life consists of social status transitions, which are often marked by rites of passage that separate individuals from their past identity. Gennep , in his most famous work “The Rites of Passage” (1909), suggests that a mans life can be seen as a succession of stages and that with each stage comes a ceremony whose purpose is the enabling of the individual to pass from one stage to another (Gennep, 1950, p. 3). Gennep subdivides the classification of the rites of passage into three separate categories, these being; the rite of separation, transition rites and rites of incorporation. These subcategories are also known as preliminary rites, liminal rites a...
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...es and relationships that can have a deleterious affect on one’s self image and self esteem. The second stage is the transition rites category. In this stage individuals are feeling left in limbo, having have moved on from their previous role but have not yet been incorporated into their new one. Individuals in this state often experience anger, depression and denial. Individuals who are unable to accept their new status can languish in a period of liminality. The final subcategory of status passage is the rite of incorporation. At this stage the individual has accepted the new status and is reasonably comfortable with the new lifestyle. This final subcategory can be hard to reach for some, but essential for all to reach in order to achieve acceptance of their inevitable situation, and to obtain a degree of personal comfort in their new role.
On a more refined level of Erikson’s theories, James Marcia’s four levels of ego identity are observed. The four stages are; Identity confusion, when there is not crisis or active commitments; foreclosure, still no crisis but starting to form beliefs, goals and values; moratorium, active crisis and actively trying to seek a way to resolve crisis, and finally, identity achievement; one has gone through and resolved crisis, and now has firm beliefs and
The author as a healthcare assistant working in the nursing home will present a scenario of Mrs. Keller (not her real name) who is confined in the dementia u...
Massive amounts of people find it hard to believe that the “N” word is harmless. Little that they know, it inflicts a great deal of mental damage to the victim. Like when Mrs. Dubose stated to Scout, “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (Lee 135).
Nursing homes offer a wide range of long-term care assistance for older adults to be able to meet their everyday needs. Older adults from different cultural backgrounds experience conflict with their decision to participate in a nursing home therefore, catalyzing the underlying stigma different cultures hold towards nursing homes. In many cultures, older adults look for family as their primary source for care. However, when their needs cannot be met due to disability and mental health issues, it begins to take a toll on the person’s instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). IADLs are complex daily actions that are needed to live (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2015). Thus, bringing the issues that
To examine the socioeconomic status of my study mother, Susan and assess whether she exhibits similar characteristics to other mothers in the same social class at a local, regional and national level. The effect of socioeconomic status on different aspects of pregnancy and childcare will be discussed.
It will also consider how breakdowns in ‘effective communication’ (K101, Unit 8, P134) occur as a result of barriers arising, including ‘Physical Environment, Disability and Impairment, Attitudes, Cultural Differences and Emotions and Feelings (K101, Unit 8, P136). This can ‘dis-empower’ services users leading to an identity being imposed on them which may generate feelings of insecurity and worthlessness and deny them the right to a voice. Similarly, evidence will be provided to show care workers applying skills to develop strategies which aid in the process of overcoming these barriers. The evidence produced in this essay will be taken from case studies based on oral history and life story work. Both strategies grant service users the ability to talk about their past experiences, discover who they are and develop a sense of identity, thus providing them with feelings of confidence, security and self-esteem.
Having worked in the field of geriatrics, in a nursing home setting, I have had the opportunity to be involved in the direct care of the elderly. Over a period of time, I have come to accept living one's last years in a nursing home as an eventual "normal" response to the aging process. As a result of this study, I anticipate having an enlarged perspective and an enhanced sensitivity to the psychosocial aspects of aging.
Life Transitions and Life Completion. (n.d.). : Joan Erikson's 9th Stage of Psychosocial Development. Web. 3 December 2014.
From the moment I was born I was given a status, I had no say in whether I wanted it or not and along the way; growing up I was given the option to become others. There are two types of statuses that I am currently have an ascribed and achieved status. Growing as a Hmong daughter and a student is hard. Having the title Hmong daughter was ascribed to me and the title student was achieved by me. Living with these two statuses, sometimes they are difficult, but someday I hope together they will take me to a much better place, a higher social class than where I am currently.
Rite of Passage, a fictional piece written by author Alexei Panshin, is about the war-torn devastation of the world one hundred and fifty years after it happened in the year two thousand and forty-eight. A young child by the name of Mia Havero is part of a group of tests in which children must survive a full month on their own in colonized, but very hostile parts of the world. Mia’s time for survival is quickly approaching and must learn to fend for herself. One of the most vital skills Mia needs is independence. Although this situation is rare in the real world, people constantly undergo situations that test their independence in nature, from a twelve-year-old being able to stay at home by themselves, to a thirty-year-old living being financially independent of assistance from
Erik Erikson developed the eight stages of life theory. Erikson’s theory focuses on the development from birth to death, social context, and interpersonal relations during each stage of life (McAdams, 2009). In the same manner, each stage of life is comprehendible in three levels, such as the body, ego, and family and culture. The eight stages of life are infancy (trust vs. mistrust), early childhood (autonomy vs. shame and doubt), childhood (initiative vs. guilt), childhood (industry vs. inferiority), adolescence and young adulthood (identity vs. role confusion), young adulthood (intimacy vs. isolation), mature adulthood (generativity vs. stagnation (or self-absorption)), and old age (ego integrity vs. despair).
“According to Erikson’s theory, every person must pass through a series of eight interrelated stages over the entire life cycle.” (“Erikson’s stages of development,” 2016). An example would be basic trust and mistrust. This stage is from birth up to a year old. A baby develops trust when being held, fed, or simply being touched. If the baby does not develop trust it will result in the baby having insecurity and mistrust. Another example would be identity vs role confusion, this stage is during adolescence. During this age adolescents begin to discover their identity, those who do not begin to try to be like others which is also known as “fitting
Roy Rappaport (1999) showcases the idea that ritual is a fundamental aspect of human society. A community requires trust, and rituals are a necessary function of society, which creates that trust. For example willingly enduring a painful initiation as part of a ritual creates a sense of trust. In this essay I will discuss the theoretical works of Durkheim, Rossano and Douglas to attest to rituals preserving social order. While the works of Gluckman and Turner provide an interesting insight into reintegration through ritual, and Geertz provides an alternative view to the idea that rituals preserve and reiterate social order.
In this paper I will be focusing on Erikson’s Theory mainly about identity versus role confusion. Finding one’s identity is not always an easy task. Everyone at some point in his or her life has had, as Erikson puts it, an identity crisis. Everyone experiences different struggles that can have either a positive or negative impact on their identity. On my path to identity, I have reached identity achievement, which means I have explored and made commitments. I will also be focusing on two articles highlighting a fifth possible outcome regarding identity and looking at identity statuses as developmental trajectories.
In conclusion, the formation of one’s identity has many components. Beginning at the onset of adolescence and continuing to expand, grow and form and reform as we live through the struggles or success of life. Many theorists have endeavored to clarify the development of identity formation. However, Erik Erickson offered one significant theory involving the formation of one’s identity. Expounding on Erickson theory, Marcia developed his Identity Status Model according to the existence or absence of crisis and commitments. These four statuses, diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement can combine in various ways to produce a self. One’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and commitments made, therefore, having a well-developed sense of self can provide an individual with insight to their strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. An individual that finds themselves