This kind of event typically occurs during the fifth of a certain theorist's stages of psychosocial development, which falls during adolescence when role confusion is most pronounced.
The "psycho" and "social" aspects of this concept are examined in a discussion of it in "autobiographical perspective" in the book Life History and the Historical Moment. This concept is placed in the transition between the "foreclosure" and "moratorium" phases in a four-phase model developed by James Marcia. This concept's formulator said that it could result in a "second birth" as in the case of a man whose doubts over being a (*) "good son" grew into rebellion against the church. Depending on whether it is resolved or not, this kind of event leads to either fidelity or diffusion, respectively. This kind of event typically occurs during the fifth of a certain theorist's stages of psychosocial development, which falls during adolescence when role confusion is most pronounced. For 10 points, identify this confusion about sense of self whose name was coined by Erik Erikson.
The "psycho" and "social" aspects of this concept are examined in a discussion of it in "autobiographical perspective" in the book Life History and the Historical Moment.
identity crisis [accept loose equivalents like identity confusion; accept identity cohesion versus role confusion until mentioned; accept Erikson's fifth stage of psychosocial development or equivalents before mentioned; DO NOT accept or prompt on "existential crisis"]