Life is never easy for anyone, however it is especially more difficult during the period of adolescence. The period in which the person is no longer considered a child, but not even an adult. Erik Erikson had many ideas about this period and focuses on the term identity diffusion. Rebecca Fraser-Thill describes this when she writes: “Identity diffusion is a step in the process of finding a sense of self. It refers to a period in which an individual does not have an established identity, nor does he actively seek one. In other words, it is a time when a person's identity remains unresolved, but there is no identity crisis (called an identity moratorium).” (Fraser-Thill, 2011) Erikson was able to carefully recognize the intrinsic components of the concept of identity diffusion. James Joyce's text, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, can apply to his analysis as Joyce begins to grow up. According to Erik Erikson the four main works of identity diffusion include intimacy, diffusion of time perspective, diffusion of industry and finally negative identity which also applies to Stephen Dedalus from Joyce's book. First, Erikson's description of the intimacy part of the Diffusion of Identity problem is clearly delineated and evident in many adolescents such as Dedalus in Joyce's book. According to John C. Coleman's text, The Nature of Adolescent, he writes: “First there is the problem of intimacy. Here the individual may fear commitment or involvement in close interpersonal relationships due to the possible loss of their identity.” By not being able to decide what kind of person they want to become, these teenagers damage their ability to get close to another person. Doug Davis delves into this topic... center of paper......tion.Cherry, Kendra. “Identity versus Confusion.” About.com. About.com, 2014. Web. 5 May 2014. identity-against-confusion.htm>. This provided great information. Davis, Doug. "Erikson's stages." Haverford University. HU, 1995. Web. 5 May 2014. erikson.stages.html>. This provided great information. Fraser-Thill, Rebecca. “Defining Identity Diffusion.” About.com. About.com, March 18. 2011. Network. 5 May 2014. behaviordiscipline/a/identity-diffusion.htm>. This provided great information. McLeod, Saul. "Erik Erikson." Simply psychology. Simply Psychology, 2013. Web. 5 May 2014. . This provided great information.