Final answer:
Identity achievement is more likely to occur in emerging adulthood than in adolescence. Individuals typically become aware of their sexual orientation in early adolescence. In late adulthood, the focus of Erikson's developmental stage is on overcoming despair to achieve integrity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Identity achievement is more likely to occur in emerging adulthood than in adolescence. Adolescents are in the stage of identity versus role confusion, trying to discover who they are and what they want from life.
In contrast, people in emerging adulthood, which spans from the 20s to early 30s, have usually completed their education, started careers, and are forming intimate relationships. They are generally more settled and thus more capable of achieving identity as they have had more experiences and time to reflect on their personal beliefs and goals.
Regarding sexual orientation awareness, research indicates that individuals are aware of it in early adolescence. During adolescence, individuals are developing their sense of self, which includes their sexual orientation. This develops earlier than early adulthood or late adulthood, where the focus is more on intimacy versus isolation and overcoming despair to achieve integrity, respectively.
In Erikson's developmental stages of life, older people struggle with overcoming despair to achieve integrity. This challenge occurs in late adulthood, a time when individuals reflect on their past and aim to see their life as a whole as fulfilling and worthwhile.