Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson believed that the main task of an adolescent is to develop their own sense of identity and find answers to the questions: "Who am I?" and "Where am I going?". Although Erikson referred to this active process of self-definition as an identity crisis, he believed it to be an integral part of healthy psychosocial development.Similarly, most developmental psychologists believe that adolescence should be a period of "role experimentation," in which young people explore various behaviors, interests, and ideologies. In an attempt to create a cohesive concept of self, an adolescent may try out, modify, or discard many roles and behaviors. The adolescent tries to integrate these values and successful attempts into a logical picture.The search for identity is easier for an adolescent if parents, teachers, and peers hold more or less consistent values. However, in a complex society like ours, finding one's own identity is very difficult for many adolescents. Young people face an almost endless array of possibilities regarding how to behave and what to do in life.
Identity Achievement vs. Identity Confusion
Ideally, the identity crisis should be resolved by 20–25 years of age so that the individual can move on to other life tasks. Once this process is successfully completed, we say the individual has achieved identity—meaning they have acquired a gender identity, occupational direction, and worldview.
Until a person resolves their identity crisis, they lack a cohesive self-concept or a set of internal standards by which to measure their own worth in important areas of life. Erikson referred to this unsuccessful outcome as identity confusion.
The Four Identity Statuses According to Marcia
Erikson's theory of adolescent identity development was tested and expanded by other researchers. Based on open-ended interviews, James Marcia (1966, 1980) distinguished four statuses or periods based on whether a person perceives their identity as an issue and whether they have reached a resolution:
1. Identity Achievement
Individuals in this status have gone through an identity crisis, a period of questioning and active self-exploration. They have taken ideological positions they arrived at themselves and chosen an occupation. For example, they have begun to think of themselves not just as a medical student, but as a future doctor. They have re-evaluated their family's religious and ideological stances and discarded those that do not align with their identity.
2. Identity Foreclosure
People in this status have also taken occupational and ideological positions, but show no signs of having gone through an identity crisis. They have adopted their family's religious and political stances without question. Some have made certain commitments and are willing to cooperate, while others are rigid, dogmatic, and conforming. They give the impression that they would be lost if their rules and unexamined values were subjected to a major life test.
3. Moratorium
Young people in this status are usually in the midst of an identity crisis. They are actively seeking answers but have not yet resolved the conflict between their own interests and their parents' expectations. At best, they appear sensitive, moral, and open-minded; at worst, they appear anxious, rigid, and hesitant.
4. Identity Diffusion
Marcia used this term to describe what Erikson called identity confusion. Some individuals in this category have gone through an identity crisis, others have not. In either case, they have not yet formed a stable self-concept. They claim that neither religion nor politics interests them. Some come across as cynical, others appear superficial and confused.
The proportion of young people who reach identity achievement predictably grows from about 14 to 24 years of age. Concurrently, the proportion of those exhibiting identity diffusion decreases.
Cognitive Theories and Self-Esteem
Most current research focused on the development of self-concept stems from cognitive theories rather than Erikson's stages. Along with the maturation of cognitive abilities, adolescents acquire more abstract characterizations of their own selves. They begin to perceive themselves more in terms of personal beliefs and standards and less in terms of social comparison.Adolescents' self-concept varies across situations (they perceive themselves differently with parents than with peers). Especially among classmates or in romantic relationships, they often behave in ways that do not accurately reflect how they actually view themselves.In early adolescence, self-esteem tends to be somewhat unstable, but it stabilizes over time. Regardless of gender and ethnic background, higher self-esteem is directly related to:
Parental approval
Peer support
The ability to adapt
Success in school
Ethnic and Cultural Identity
During adolescence and early adulthood, many young minority members also struggle with their ethnic identity. The outcome of this struggle takes various forms:
Assimilation: They reject their own culture and integrate into the majority culture.
Marginalization: They retain their minority culture but experience feelings of alienation.
Separation: They reject the majority culture and focus solely on their own.
Biculturalism: They try to find a balance between their own and the majority culture.
References:
Atkinson, R. L. et al. (2012). Psychology. 15th ed.. Portál
Source Text
This text is a transcription of a subchapter from the book Psychology (Atkinson, R. L. et al.). It serves as personal study material on theories of self-concept and identity development.
