Stage 9 psychosocial crisis is which?

• A. Integrity vs Despair
• B. Intimacy vs Isolation
• C. Identity vs Role Confusion
• D. Trust vs Mistrust

Answer: (A)

In the late stages of life, the focus is on looking back over one’s life and deciding whether it feels whole or disappointing. When a person can review their life with acceptance, a sense of integrity emerges—feeling that their life has meaning and was lived well despite flaws. If they cannot come to terms with their past, despair can take hold, with regrets and a sense that life was wasted.

This makes the option describing integrity versus despair the best fit for a Stage 9 psychosocial crisis, since it captures the late-life life-review and acceptance that characterizes this stage. The other options correspond to earlier life periods—infancy, adolescence, and young adulthood—so they don’t describe the late-life crisis.