Sixteen-year-old Janeece has just begun dating. She is beginning to realize that she has a lot more fun with her girlfriends than with her steady boyfriend. This is causing some concern for Janeece because she is afraid that she might be a lesbian. According to Erikson, what crisis is Janeece struggling to resolve?

identity vs. role confusion.

Explanation:

Erik Erikson proposed a theory of social development that has place along the individual lifespan. This development takes place in different stages that are conformed by a crisis that the individual has to go through. Each crisis can have a positive or negative outcome for the social development.

The fifth stage of this model takes place during adolescence and it's called identity vs. role confusion. In this stage, the adolescent searches for a sense of self and identity through an exploration of their personal values, beliefs, and goals. During this stage, the adolescence asks himself/herself who he/she is in terms of their identity. One important part of their identity has to do with their sexuality.

In this example, Janeece is 16 years-old and she is starting to wonder if she might be a lesbian. According to Erikson, because of his age she'd be struggling with the crisis of identity vs. role confusion. We also see that she is questioning and wondering what her sexual identity is, which is a main component of this crisis.