Identity Development During Adolescence Research

Identity Development during Adolescence
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Identity Development during Adolescence
The handout herein is meant to explain Identity Development during Adolescence to high school guidance counselors, parents, or people who work with the adolescents.
Content
The various sections that will be discussed within the document include;
1 What is adolescence?
2 What is Identity?
3 What is identity development (both in theory and research) in adolescence stage?
4 Recommended guidelines use for interactions with adolescents
5 How do teens develop identities?
6 Impacts of identity exploration
7 Reasons for interactions with the adolescents
What is adolescence?
A transitional development that occurs between childhood and adulthood is referred to adolescence. This period sometimes is called puberty. The period commences between 12 years to either 18 or latest 21 years (Zelazo & Carlson, 2012).
What is identity?
We identify ourselves with several things or groups such as personal, age, gender, ethnic background, race, language, region, nationality and political identities among others. However, a personal identity is having a sense, expressions that make you who you are, qualities, beliefs and look. For example, “I am a girl, I am an American boy, I am twelve years old, I care for my friends” (James, 2015).
What is identity development (both in theory and research) in adolescence stage?
When teens start asking and finding the answer to the question "Who am I?" then it marks the starting point of identity development. Teenagers while striving to identify themselves, they develop gradually. This can be noted by the various activities they do such as wearing outfits of different colors, trying new activities. They start thinking differently about themselves based on the changes they see in their bodies and forming different groups among others. However, understanding identity development takes both theory and research perspectives (Fuligni & Eccles, 1993).
A theoretical perspective of adolescence identity development has been described by many theorists. The majority of the assumptions identify that adolescence identity development takes both psychosexual development and character formation in relation to the balancing between elements such as the id, ego and the superego and are genetically determined independently. This strive of finding equilibrium between the three struggling elements (id, ego, and superego) is normally disturbed at the puberty stage resulting in puberty conflict. Thus, it causes teens to start finding solutions about their identity (Freud S., 1994; Freud A., 1989 & Erikson, 1956).
On a separate note, researchers have elaborated that identity development at the adolescence stage o...