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We all have an identity, but have we always? Identity is a combination of the qualities, beliefs, and traits we deem important and use to describe who we are. Identities aren’t imposed onto us; they are formed as we grow and learn about the world. Adolescence is the first time we see a major shift toward self-exploration and identity formation.
Theories of adolescent development often focus on identity formation as a central issue. For example, in Erikson’s (1968) classic theory of developmental stages, identity formation was highlighted as the primary indicator of successful development during adolescence. If a teen was unable to form their own identity, role confusion may occur, which would be an indicator of needing more self-discovery and feeling unsure about where they fit in.
Marcia (1966) described identity formation during adolescence as involving both decision points and commitments with respect to belief systems (e.g., religion, politics) and occupations. He described four identity statuses: foreclosure, identity diffusion, moratorium, and identity achievement. Foreclosure occurs when an individual commits to an identity without exploring options. Identity diffusion occurs when adolescents neither explore nor commit to any identities. Moratorium is a state in which adolescents are actively exploring options but have not yet made commitments. Identity achievement occurs when individuals have explored different options and then made identity commitments.
| Teen Has Experienced Crisis Through Exploration | No Crisis Due to No Exploration | |
|---|---|---|
| Teen Has Committed | Identity Achievement | Foreclosure |
| Teen Has Not Committed | Moratorium | Identity Diffusion |
EXAMPLE
A teen may commit to an identity without exploring if they are content with the values, culture, and/or religion they were raised in. Teens in foreclosure may adopt large parts of their parents’ identities or the identity parents have put on them. However, a teen who has completed identity achievement was able to explore the world for themselves and make decisions about how they identify due to those experiences. Crisis doesn’t necessarily mean a negative event; it’s simply branching out from what’s comfortable in order to discover who they are.Identity development is a stage in the adolescent life cycle. For most, the search for identity begins in the adolescent years. During these years, adolescents are more open to “trying on” different behaviors and appearances to discover who they are. In an attempt to find their identity and discover who they are, adolescents are likely to cycle through a number of identities to find one that suits them best. Developing and maintaining identity is a difficult task due to multiple factors such as family life, environment, and social status. Some studies suggest that this process might be more accurately described as identity development, rather than formation, but confirms this is a typical process of change in a person's thoughts about themselves.
Two main aspects of identity development are self-concept and self-esteem. The idea of self-concept is known as the ability of a person to have opinions and beliefs that are defined confidently, consistently, and with stability. Early in adolescence, cognitive developments result in greater self-awareness, greater awareness of others and their thoughts and judgments, the ability to think about abstract, future possibilities, and the ability to consider multiple possibilities at once. As a result, adolescents experience a significant shift from the simple, concrete, and global self-descriptions typical of young children. As children, they defined themselves by physical traits such as their gender, the color of their hair, or if they’re fast.
IN CONTEXT
Adolescents can conceptualize multiple “possible selves” that they could become and the long-term possibilities and consequences of their choices. Exploring these possibilities may result in abrupt changes in self-presentation as the adolescent chooses or rejects qualities and behaviors. This is known as guiding the actual self toward the ideal self. Our ideal self is who we want to be, and the feared self is who we do not want to be. For many, these distinctions are uncomfortable, but they also appear to motivate achievement through behavior consistent with the ideal and distinct from the feared possible selves.
The exploration and discovery of our ideal and feared selves can happen at the same time. Many adolescents see traits in peers, family members, or other members of the community and think, “Hmm, I don’t want to be like that,” while simultaneously looking at other peers, family members, or members of the community and think, “I want to be like that” or “I like that quality in that person.”
Further distinctions in self-concept, called differentiation, occur as the adolescent recognizes the influences on their own behavior and the perceptions of others, and begins to describe their traits when asked about themselves. Differentiation appears fully developed by mid-adolescence, peaking in the 7th–9th grades. The recognition of inconsistent content in the self-concept is a common source of distress in these years, but this distress may benefit adolescents by encouraging further exploration and development.
Another aspect of identity formation is self-esteem. Self-esteem is defined as one’s thoughts and feelings about one’s self-concept and identity. Most theories on self-esteem state that there is a grand desire, across all genders and ages, to maintain, protect, and enhance their self-esteem. Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence to support theories that there is a significant drop in self-esteem during adolescence. Girls are most likely to enjoy high self-esteem when engaged in supportive relationships with friends. When they fail to win friends’ approval or can’t find someone with whom to share common activities and common interests, girls tend to suffer from low self-esteem.
In contrast, boys are more concerned with establishing and asserting their independence and defining their relation to authority. As such, they are more likely to derive high self-esteem from their ability to successfully influence their friends. Lack of romantic skill, or failure to maintain the affection of another person romantically, is the major contributor to low self-esteem in adolescent boys.
Source: THIS TUTORIAL HAS BEEN ADAPTED FROM LUMEN LEARNING'S LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT. ACCESS FOR FREE AT https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-lifespandevelopment/. LICENSE: CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 4.0 INTERNATIONAL.
REFERENCES
Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3, 551–558.
Kim-Spoon, J., Longo, G.S., & McCullough, M.E. (2012) Parent-adolescent relationship quality as a moderator for the influence of parents' religiousness on adolescents' religiousness and adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(12), 1576-1587.
Taylor, P. (2014). The next America: Boomers, millennials, and the looming generational showdown. New York, NY: Public Affairs.
Stattin, H., Hussein, O., Ozdemir, M., & Russo, S. (2017). Why do some adolescents encounter everyday events that increase their civil interest whereas others do not? Developmental Psychology, 53 (2), 306-318.
