Once through these five stages of childhood and an established adult in society we are ready for commitment in a real relationship, but during this stage we should be prepared for rejection, break-ups, and the possibility of being alone. During mid-life, from the ages of approximately 40-65 years the adult is concerned with establishing and guiding the next generation by way of parenthood or products and ideas. The last stage is called integrity and despair, a time in our lives when we can either look back with happiness and fulfilment or sadness and despair, Erikson suggests that if we look back with satisfaction and fulfilment an adult should not fear death, but if we look back with sadness and regret, we could despair and fear death. Erikson’s theories compartmentalise life and are focused on the inner self identity.
In contrast to Erikson’s theory Giddens suggests that today’s society is a constantly changing one and it is no longer beneficial to make use of the experiences of preceding generations, Giddens also suggests that our lives are constantly on the move, with a variety of jobs, homes, partners, with access to many countries across the globe enabling us to experience an array diverse cultures, Giddens suggests we work out our identity as we go. Although is should be noted that both Erikson and Giddens are in concurrence in their emphasis of the significance of building and maintaining a ‘self identity’. (Unit 14, pp. 25-30).
A common sense understanding of social identity could be considered in terms of how a person is perceived by those around them – for example they may be disabled, of ethnic origin, British, young, old, or poor in appearance. This commonsense understanding of social identity could be complicated if consideration is given to a person of ethnic appearance who is British by birth. This person may be perceived to be ethnic rather than British and equally, if this person happened to be old, disabled and ethnic in appearance, their social identity is made more complex. Therefore, would this person be old, disabled or ethnic first? This definition of social identity could also be dependant on the social identity of the person defining the other person’s identity. It could therefore be fair to say that both self and social identity promotes an individuals sense of meaning in life. Would life be totally meaningless if we had no sense of social of self identity?
Having established definitions of both self and social identity, using the example of Lennox Castle, and interviews by Howard Mitchell, a former nurse at Lennox Castle, in conjunction with Goffman’s characteristics of institutional life, we will consider how such a setting could affect an individual’s sense of personal identity. Lennox Castle was a large regimented institution situated in Lennoxtown, approximately 10 miles from Glasgow. It was built by local authorities in the 1930’s following the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act. The accommodation was set out in a villa and dormitory system, which had the capacity to house over 1200 patients. It was a self contained, isolated community, and was open for approximately 60 years. When we observe the interview of the former patient, Margaret Scally with researcher, Howard Mitchell, she tells us that Lennox Castle was extremely regimented, with no personal choice for patients, and rather harsh punishments for misdemeanours. Margaret goes on to tell us that clothes were chosen and laid out for individuals each day and these clothes where worn by everyone. According to Goffman, this description of Lennox Castle would assimilate with his characteristic of institutional life ‘Batch Living’, whereby people are treated as a group with no opportunity for personal choice (Unit 16. pp.129). It could, therefore, be concluded that a sense of identity and ownership of personal space would have been extremely difficult to maintain at Lennox Castle (K100, DVD).
Having looked at how easily a sense of identity can be lost, consideration will now be given as to how knowing a person’s past life might be helpful in maintaining identity. ‘Working with memories – life story books’, focuses on how life story books are being used more and more by authorities to help young people to talk about earlier parts of their lives (Unit 14, p 17-21) and Offprint 19 is the introduction to Ryan and Walker’s book, Life Story Work which looks at how and when life story work should be done and the principles around confidentiality, the book was written to help other care professionals who want to use life story work as a way of helping children (Ryan & Walker, 1999, pp.73-77). The life story books referred to may not necessarily take the form of an actual book, they could also be video and audio recordings, photographs, drawings or collages. This way of working can help children keep their memories alive as they move on into adulthood, memories which may fade with time or become diluted by fantasies of what they think life should have been, and therefore helping them maintain a real sense of self identity. However, life story work could cause difficulties for both the child involved and also the care professional helping them to pull together their story. For example, if a disclosure is made by the child that is of a serious nature, for the child’s safety, the adult in the scenario may feel the disclosure would need to be reported appropriately. Also, when researching a child’s past, it is possible the information acquired may be upsetting or painful for the child, again the care professional may face the dilemma of how much detail should be disclosed to the child. Therefore, assisting individuals to maintain their identity could possibly raise issues for both the care professional and the individual concerned.
In conclusion, self identity could be described as a person’s understanding of themselves as an individual. This self identity may be gained at set stages throughout our lives or as we move through life gaining experience in a variety of situations. Social identity could be described as they way we are perceived by those around us. Both self and social identity plays an important part in shaping who we become as individuals and how we deal with life. Unfortunately, self identity could easily be lost in the world of institutions, but there are mechanisms in place, such as life story books, to assist in maintaining or creating an identity for those who may have experienced some kind of institutionalisation, although this type of work is not without it’s difficulties for both the care professional and the individual concerned. These are just some of the factors that demonstrate why identity could be a particular issue for someone living in a residential setting and how care workers can assist individuals to maintain their self identity and the dilemmas they may possibly face.
Word Count: 1,506
References:
Bornat, Joanna, (2005) Lives, The Open University, Milton Keynes, K100 Understanding Health and Social Care, Block 4: Working with Life Experience, Issue 4.
Bornat, Joanna, (2005) Recounting the Past, The Open University, Milton Keynes, K100 Understanding Health and Social Care, Block 4: Working with Life Experience, Issue 4.
Open University (1993) K100 Understanding Health and Social Care, DVD ‘Lennox Castle, a hidden history’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Ryan, T and Walker, R (1999) Life Story Work, British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering, London. Block 4 Offprints, Milton Keynes, The Open University
