Adolescent self and identity development in context

Abstract

Adolescent self and identity development in contextIdentity formation is a dynamic and life-long process, characterized by continuous changes in the amount of exploration and strength of commitments (Erikson, 1968;Marcia, 1966).At specific moments in life, in which one's identity is challenged, these changes are pronounced and clearly visible.Adolescence is such a period: Young people of 10-22 years are in the midst of a process of restructuring social relationships, of finding their place in society, and of making important choices for their future lives.This is why many authors, in line with Erikson (1968), consider the development of a stable and coherent identity a central developmental task during adolescence.Despite these normative statements, Erikson (1968) already acknowledged that not all adolescents are equally successful in negotiating this task.Whereas some adolescents arrive at a clear and integrated identity, others end up in a state of identity confusion.To account for such differences, Erikson pointed to the role of the context surrounding adolescents, and defined identity development during adolescence as a process of person-context interactions (Kroger, 2004).In his psychosocial approach to identity, Erikson stressed the important role of society and people surrounding adolescents in recognizing, supporting and thus helping to shape adolescents' identity.Alternatively, contexts can also function as barriers (Yoder, 2000) that limit adolescents' opportunities for building a strong sense of self or a stable and coherent identity.Low socioeconomic status, poor educational opportunities, or political restrictions all are examples of such identity barriers.For decades, however, the impact of developmental contexts on identity development during adolescence was largely ignored (Coˆte´& Levine, 1988).In this period, identity was primarily conceptualized and measured as an intrapersonal attribute.Only recently, several authors (e.g., Adams & Marshall, 1996;Bosma & Kunnen, 2001;Kroger, 2000Kroger, , 2004) ) stressed that we must conceptualize identity formation as a process of person-context interactions or transactions.A major reason for this absence of context in the study of identity formation could be that identity researchers, mainly psychologist at that time, lacked a good theory and description of context.It was not before Bronfenbrenner (1989) put forward his Ecological Systems Theory in the developmental psychology literature, that identity researchers started to study adolescents and their environments.It has been said that before Bronfenbrenner, psychologists studied the individual, sociologists examined the family, anthropologists the society, economists the economic

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