Integrity

According to Erikson's theory of adulthood, when a person achieves integrity, then that person has established a complete sense or feeling that his or her life has been meaningful and worthwhile. This stage occurs in the latter years of life and is reached when people do not look back on their lives and dwell on mistakes, or feelings of regret for things they did or did not do. The alternative in this stage according to Erikson's theory is despair.