Final answer:
The period of anxiety and change in middle adulthood is known as a midlife crisis. Erikson's stages of development highlight the various challenges individuals face at different life stages, including overcoming despair to achieve integrity, developing identity, and forming intimate relationships.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term often used to describe a period of unusual anxiety, reexamination, and transformation during middle adulthood is a midlife crisis. This phenomenon generally occurs when adults realize their own aging and mortality, and often question their accomplishments, direction, and fulfillment in life. They may make drastic changes in their lifestyle, career, or relationships as they seek to regain a sense of purpose.
According to Erik Erikson's developmental stages of life, the challenge older people must struggle with in late adulthood is overcoming despair to achieve integrity (Option a). This psychosocial stage involves reflecting on life and either feeling a sense of satisfaction (integrity) or a sense of failure (despair).
In adolescence, individuals undergo significant development as they face the task of identity versus role confusion. Successful navigation of this stage results in a stronger sense of personal identity, allowing one to enter adulthood with confidence. However, failure to achieve this task may lead to a weak sense of self and confusion about the future.
Lastly, early adulthood is characterized by the psychosocial conflict of intimacy versus isolation, where individuals seek to form intimate relationships and a sense of connection with others. A well-established sense of self is deemed necessary to successfully engage in such relationships.