Late adulthood consist of age 60 until death, Erik Erikson categorized this stage as integrity vs despair. According to Erikson during “old age” adults are believed to have more wisdom and existential identity. As adults grow older they stop working and worrying about their productivity, this leaves time to explore life and contemplate their accomplishments and are able to develop integrity. (Erikson & Erikson, 1998). On the other hand Continuity theory states that adults try to maintain the same amount of activity, the same behaviors, personalities, and relationships. Continuity Theory holds that, in making adaptive choices, middle-aged and older adults attempt to preserve and maintain existing internal and external structures; and they prefer to accomplish this objective by using strategies tied to their past experiences of themselves and their social world. (Atchley, 1989). The theory deals with the internal structure and the external structure of continuity to describe how people adapt to their situation and set their goals. (Atchley, 1989). The internal structure consist of an individual’s personality or ideas remain constant in life and the external structure consist of relationships and social roles that help maintain a stable self-concept. The Developmental Stage theory should have stopped at adolescence, because Erikson viewed the developmental stages as a cycle were one generation ended and another began. Continuity theory says that people change less with aging and adaptation is done using what they already know.





Atchley, R. C. (1989). A continuity theory of normal aging. The gerontologist, 29(2), 183-190.
Erikson, E. H., & Erikson, J. M. (1998). The life cycle completed. WW Norton & Company.