Identity Development Theory And Erikson's Theory Of Adolescence Development

Adolescence is Erikson’s fifth stage of development wherein the person must master the conflict of identity versus role confusion. The question, who I am? Is a question that arises during this time? The child is concerned with

During adolescence, we ask ourselves, "Who am I? Who do I want to be?" Answering these questions involves integrating the healthy resolution of all earlier stages. Adolescents must explore, test limits, become autonomous from parents, and commit to an identity, or sense of self. One can only establish an identity after trying out various roles, behaviors, and ideologies. Failure to achieve a sense of identity results in role confusion, an inability to make decisions and choices about vocation, sexual orientation, and one's role in life.

Erikson (1968) believed that the primary psychosocial task of adolescence is the formation of identity. Therefore, he called developmental conflict identity versus confusion. There are various contributing factors to the formation of identity such as cognitive development, personality as well as schools and communities etc. The onset of puberty during adolescents leads to newfound cognitive skills and physical abilities (Kroger,2004) . In addition, increased independence and autonomy leads to greater interactions with communities and schools etc. according to Erikson (1968), this allows the individual to explore relationships and ideologies. He gave particular attention to the career domain, starting “In general, it is the ability to settle

‘In the age of globalization and of the ever-accelerating intermingling of elements in which we are all caught up, a new concept of identity is needed, and needed urgently. We cannot be satisfied with forcing billions of bewildered human beings to choose between excessive assertion of their identity and the loss of their identity

The purpose of my research is to examine adolescent identity formation through the ideology of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of identity development. Because of the limitations of Erikson’s theory specifically in relation to the adolescent stage of development, I will also evaluate the participant’s identity formation in regards to James Maria’s ideas of adolescent development.

The primary issues of adolescence according to Erikson is the search for identity. "Adolescents face a crises between identity and role confusion. They must balance the desire to try out many possible selves and the need to select a single self" ( Kail & Cavanaugh. Chapter 9: Moving in to the Adult Social World. In Essentials of Human Development, p. 236). Erikson used the term "crisis" to describe a series of internal conflicts that are linked to developmental stages. When an adolescent achieves their sense of identity, they're prepared to establish intimate relationships, which is the next developmental challenge. This crisis represents the struggle in finding a balance between developing their own individual identity while still being accepted

During the adolescent years, the conflict of interest in Erikson’s psychosocial theory deals with identity and identity confusion (Ashford et al, 2013). These years are crucial in developing a youth’s self-esteem. Young people are highly self-conscious. Their perceptions of self

Adolescence is both a social and cultural construct as well as biological one, it is the developmental period where one transition from being a child to adult and face biological, psychological, and social challenges. This challenging, and important time in between childhood and adulthood has caused a lot of interest in the psychological field and a number of theories have been developed in order to try and explain the different stages of development. One of the most significant models of psychosocial development was created by Erikson (1963) and the stage related to adolescents is known as the “Identity vs. Role-Diffusion”, where the one is in constant pursuit of a coherent sense of self during the teenage years. When the teenager is unable to put together aspects of themselves they experience role-diffusion. Later on Elkind (1967) introduced his theory of adolescent egocentrism, explaining the increase in preoccupation with oneself during the teenage years. Kohlberg (1969) quickly followed up with his theory of moral development, in order to examine how adolescents develop their ability to solve ethical dilemmas. Another challenge teenagers need to face is mental health. The psychological part of striving for independence, while still struggling with identity formation and having poor coping strategies can have serious consequences and lead to mental illnesses, such as depression which is a growing concern among youths. This essay will further examine to what extent

In entering adolescence, people heavily contemplate their ego identity. In the early 1900s, theorist Erik Erikson believed in eight stages of ego development from birth to death. For the purpose of this paper I have

As previously stated, Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Developments depend on the outcome of the preceding stage in order for the current stage to develop any specific way. In the Identity versus Role Confusion stage, the adolescent begins to comprehend themselves in multiple facets due to experimentation throughout this stage (Editorial Board, 2014). Erikson theorized that the adolescent’s identity would focus on two major perspectives: sexual and occupational (McLeod, 2013). The adolescent must accept and be comfortable with the many sides of which they are and apply those features to formulate an identifiable self (Editorial Board, 2014). They strive to belong to a specific society and fit in with others (McLeod, 2013). The adolescent starts thinking in the future sense of careers, family, relationships etc. and go on to search for someone to inspire themselves so they can systematically develop a set of ideals that assist in their desire to belong (Child Development Institute, 1999). Success in this stage produces the attribute of fidelity (McLeod,

During adolescence, individuals explore and establish a sense of their own identity, which involves thinking about what they want in life, what kind of person they want to be, and who they really are (Erikson, 1968). Although identity development is a lifelong process, the concept of their identity is mainly formed and crystalized during adolescence. Individuals often find themselves trying to become independent, but also worrying about the responsibilities that come with the independence; adolescents think about their values, the directions they choose to pursue in life, such as “vocation, interpersonal relationships, community involvement, ethnic-group membership, and expression of one’s sexual orientation, as well

Erikson's stages can show how to distinguish between healthy and dysfunctional coping behaviors that help the individual navigate through the transition of adolescence. Having observed many adolescents, I can apply Erikson's model of psychosocial development and gain understanding of the context and variable impacting the individual's psychology and overall health. It can be especially helpful to compare and contrast two adolescents, one who is addressing the conflict via strong and healthy coping mechanisms that ensure identity development and ego formation; and another who struggles to maintain or create a personal identity in the midst of the adolescent development stage.

The previous article discussed how positive peer relationships resulted in a more facilitated identity development while this article focuses on how communication technologies can positively and negatively affect the quality of adolescents’ peer relations and their identity development. In the introduction of this article, the authors describe the rising popularity of technology and social networking sites to interact with other people. According to the article, an important task in adolescence is to determine an identity. During this phase the adolescent explores different roles, goals, norms, and values that will most likely stick with them throughout their lives. James Marcia continued this idea by defining identity as a process where identity exploration and identity commitment take place. Identity exploration is where adolescents take on several roles and identities in order to try to decide which one best fits them. Identity commitment is where an adolescent has chosen an identity and adopts a set of values and goals. When an individual does not go through these two processes or is stuck on one, they often experience depression or anxiety. (Cyr, B et al 80)

It was always thought that adolescents are responsible for who they are in developing their own identity but according to the Journal of Research and Adolescence, parents play a huge role in their children’s identity formation. Parents have found ways to influence their children’s identity but exposing them to environments that can serve some form of vision, or quest, of what they hope their children can become and how they will see themselves as. This can be quiet difficult to achieve due to the complex socio-cultural, psychological dynamics and ethical concerns that is associated with adolescent identity. Depending on the adolescent’s culture and upbringing some adolescents have a goal to never turn out or become what either of their

From a psychosocial perspective, Erik Erikson illustrated diverse stages of life as sundry circumstances of contention. The conflict for adolescence is identity versus role confusion. He believed this was the duration when humans must decipher our identity and have a strong feeling of self. We explore through different gregarious relationships and may endeavor different roles. To be successful in this stage of development, however, we must find our personal identity. Psychology.about.com.