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Ashley Page Human Development Professor Karlson December 19, 2009

Adolescent Identity Formation

Identity is ones sense of self; it is the group of characteristics and traits that make up ones personality. Dictionary.com defines identity as the sense of self, providing sameness and continuity in personality over time . One s identity is determined by their own sense of self; their own perceptions of themselves, not someone else s. The search for identity brings up questions such as, what am I; where did I begin and, what will happen to me when I die? This is a time when adolescents begin weeding through all of the information they have about themselves to create an image of who they are, and where they fit into the world around them. They will eventually feel as though they have a place within the society that they move around in. Identity formation is a major adolescent developmental task. This task begins after puberty and concludes as the teen moves into young adulthood, at which time they will begin working

through issues of love (intimacy). During adolescence there are a number of factors that contribute to one s identity formation. Some examples of those are: peers, music, sports, fashion, academics, extracurricular activities, and family. These are the places youth find the different pieces of who they are that will ultimately make up their complete identity. As you may have noticed, many of the contributing factors of identity formation exist in or around the academic setting; even most socializing at least begins within the school. So how then, would identity formation look for an adolescent who had dropped out of high school at the early age of 16 or 17? Another situation that an adolescent can find them self in is teen parenthood. How would a teen go about completing their own developmental milestones while raising an infant at the same time? Is it possible for the high school drop out to be successful in their identity formation without the typical social networks and connections; and can a teenage parent manage to juggle both their own, and their Childs development in a healthy way? First I ll take a look at how development works ideally, and then I will take a more specific look at some of the ways that life can turn out for adolescents who deviate from the common sources of identity. I would like to end with some recommendations about how teens can find healthy alternative sources of identity when they have left the common places that teens are during their identity forming years.

Erik Erikson s Eight Stages of Development Erik Erikson was a psychologist who was a follower of Freud s psychoanalytic school of thought. He broke away from this school of thought when he theorized that human

development most likely happens in eight distinct stages; not five as had been Freud s theory with his psychosexual stages. I am going to share a few of these stages to provide perspective throughout my paper. He described the following stages surrounding childhood and young adulthood. Hope: Trust vs. Mistrust The age range of this stage is birth to age 1. This stage centers on an infant s needs. Does the infant learn to trust that the caregiver will be able to meet its needs, or does the child learn that no one answers when it cries? Will: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt The age range of this stage is 2 to 3 years old. The child is learning that they can do things for themselves rather than needing to rely on someone else to meets its needs. If caregivers impose too many limits and not enough encouragement, children will be doubtful of their ability to accomplish tasks on their own. Purpose: Initiative vs. Guilt Children at this stage are between the ages of 4-6. They are mastering the world around her, learning basic skills and principles of physics. Things fall down, not up. Round things roll. She learns to zip and tie, count and speak with ease. (Wikipedia) Children at this stage begin performing actions with purpose. Children also begin to experience the feeling of guilt at this stage, sometimes even feeling guilty when a planned action does not turn out the way they expected. If children are encouraged to make realistic, healthy goals and decisions then they will come through this stage with initiative; the ability to plan and undertake activities on their own. Competence: Industry vs. Inferiority Wikipedia states (as cited in Allen and Marotz, 2003) children at this age are becoming more aware of themselves as individuals they work hard at

being responsible, being good, and doing it right They are now more reasonable and able to share as well. Erikson considers elementary school a very important time in a person s life in regards to the development of self confidence. In fact, this stage is full of development of all kinds; spatial, conceptual, moral, personal, as well as others. If children are encouraged to take on tasks and complete them, they will end this stage as perseverant, diligent people rather than lacking in self confidence to the point of being afraid to take on challenges and feeling less than their peers. This stage leads right into the stage I am concerned with; Fidelity: Identity vs. Role confusion The main questions of this stage is who am I, and where am I going? This stage marks adolescence, and the beginning of the search for identity in youth. Teens in this stage are concerned with others perceptions of them, explaining issues with self confidence. This is also a time when youth are experimenting with different identity choices, and trying on for size different personal and social preferences. They may try a different religion than the one their parents identified with, political affiliations, peers groups, career possibilities, as well as gender identity and sexual orientation. The teen is literally searching for the place that they fit it. If successful adolescents will have a sense of whom they are. They can tell you who they are, what their career/life interests are, and where they feel they are headed in life.

Sources of Identity There are different contributors to identity development, and these include anything that present the opportunity for a choice. Music offers many genres, as do movies and books. In

sports there exist different games to choose from; football, soccer, field hockey, basketball, etc. Of course a teen can choose which extracurricular activities they participate in, or not. They choose the people they associate with, and the career paths they are interested in exploring. This time is all about discovering who they really are, and they use all of the tools at their disposal to accomplish this task.

Music

Teens listen to music in many different ways. It can be listened to in groups or individually, on a boom box or on an mp3 player. It can be listened to via music videos, or on the radio, or of course even live. Users can listen frequently or occasionally, they can switch genres, or even mix them. Music is used for consoling, entertaining, wooing, venting, and relating. Music holds such a significant place in the lives of adolescents that when, where, why, and in what way it s used can determine the way it is going to impact a teenager s identity. Concerns include the language used in music, and the negative behavior some feel that it encourages. According to a website maintained by Mass General Hospital:
The Federal Trade Commission has also condemned the industry for continuing to market explicit music to young Americans. The lyrics may be vulgar and/or racist and/or sexist. The music videos may be clearly sexually suggestive. In a recent study, more than eighty percent of the central personalities in music videos were unquestionably aggressorsand these aggressors were three times more likely to be male than female. Also, proper techniques of conflict resolution may not be presented in this context. Of particular concern, though, is not necessarily a specific music video or set of lyricsbut rather the gender and racial roles that may be actively or passively presented in such characterizations.

Luckily, music is a cultural feature that is present throughout society, so an adolescent who has dropped out of high school would still have easy access to this contributor to identity formation. The difference may only be in the characteristics of use. A teen who is not spending a lot of time with his or her peers may not be listening to the same music, just as a teen who is spending more time with adults being out of school may influence the music they are listening to. This ultimately could affect ones identity, probably not in a significant way though.

Sports and Extracurricular Activities Participation in sports and extracurricular activities not only gives adolescents an opportunity to try out certain identity, but it provides them with an opportunity to become an individual within a social group. While individuation (the separation of one s identity from a larger group, in this case from the family of origin) is important for adolescents to form their identity, it s also important for them to essentially find their place within a larger societal context. Participation will also enhance their level of social involvement, giving them ample time and freedom to form their social identity.

The Roles of Fashion and Family in Identity Formation At this stage individuation from the family begins, and adolescents start to separate their identity from that of their family as a whole. They are moving away from the interests, habits, clothing style, and preferences of the family unit. Many perceive this individuation as rebellion,

even though it is a normal part of development. One of the significant outlets for experimenting with one s identity is in fashion. Most youth have developed a sense of style that is heavily influenced by their family preferences, and so when they are figuring out whom they are experimentation with fashion is a clear and obvious way of testing out different identities. In fact, society seems to have adapted specific ready made identities for youth to just step right into when they want to try out another style. Examples of this are styles called: Goth, thug, prep, hippie, and grunge.

The School Setting The significance of the school setting is multi-faceted. All of the contributors to identity listed above (except that of family) are present in this one location. Even music is there because students bring it in via walkmans, mp3 players, even boom boxes in some schools. School is the main venue for identity development because it includes so many of the contributors. Other benefits to school (in terms of identity formation) are the presence of teachers, and guidance counselors; adults who though heavily mocked, provide stability, structure, and support to adolescents who are going through what may be the biggest identity crisis of their lives.

A major problem arises when for one reason or another, an adolescent leaves the school setting. This may be due to voluntary withdrawal, expulsion, medical necessity, or in some cases teen parenthood (not that all teens who are parents leave school). What sources of

identity do these youth have in these cases? Let s talk about where these youth typically alternatively spend their time; in jobs, with other youth not in school, adults who are not trained in child development, arcades, and home playing video games. Of course this isn t an exhaustive list. None of these places provides a supportive setting in which a youth could explore their own identity in a healthy way. This isn t to say that having a job isn t an ok place to be, but it isn t going to provide age appropriate developmental support. For youth to be hanging out with other youth in the same situation will probably not provide the motivation to find sources of identity formation because they are occupying themselves and not thinking consciously about their development.

Alternative Sources of Identity Exploration So then what would some good alternative sources of identity exploration, and can youth successfully achieve their developmental milestones in these ways? I think the answer is yes. Unfortunately I don t think that it happens often enough that a youth becomes involved in enough community activities to replace the other contributors they have lost. Some examples of good alternatives would be: joining the local YMCA, finding a youth programming agency that runs social support groups, career centers where they can earn their GED, and become involved in different literacy and alternative education programs, and after this college. It is not impossible, and it s not even that rare anymore that a teen who has dropped out of high school enters college. In fact, this is probably the best outcome that a person could hope for because it is akin to rejoining the peer group at a later stage.

Barriers to Successful Identity Achievement in Alternative Settings What stops an adolescent from replacing their identity forming contributors? First of all, as I mentioned, they aren t going to necessarily be considering the elements of their development from an objective stand point, so they may not realize the need to do so. Leaving school may feel like a failure to adolescents, and thus there may not be ample motivation for becoming involved in other activities. Individuation may play a role as well; youth go to school because it is required. If they weren t required to go to school, they may take advantage of the fact that they aren t being forced to do anything (most likely) and decide instead to do what they want. I think that also, many of the activities that are available to youth as alternatives may not be as advertised as they need to be to reach the people with the most need, and these activities may not be considered popular by their peers. Considering their need for approval by their peers, this would be a significant barrier to participation.

Conclusion

Adolescents are generally not aware of all of the developmental tasks and milestones that they are working on. This prevents them from recognizing their need for alternative enriching activities when they find themselves no longer in the school setting for whatever reasons. It would take a lot of work; research, advocacy, and motivation, to take advantage of the resources that are available to them within the community. Due to this, it s important for the success of the adolescent that their caregivers be very involved in replacing the lost developmental structures that were in place, as well as continuing to provide a healthy, strong

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support system. The term It take a village to raise a child (of unknown origin, citation unknown) becomes a realistic concept when thought is given to the number of people and groups within a community that it takes to nudge their children forward through their developmentally young years. It takes even more effort on behalf of the community to save a child from being forgotten, or slipping through the cracks when they have left the school setting. It is possible for an adolescent to recover from a loss of their developmental shelter, but it takes a lot of effort, and work on the parts of the youth, the caregiver, and the community. This is something that I don t think many within the community, and especially many parents are aware of. I think what tends to happen at home is that the parents are wondering what they are going to do with their child on a day to day basis. They consider how close the child seems to adulthood, how mature they seem compared to their younger self, and decide that the adolescent should be given the power in the situation to make their own decisions. Another possible scenario is that the adolescent decides that they are in this place of preparedness for adulthood, and fight a power struggle to be remembered; ultimately cutting the reigns, and separating in this way from the family unit. There are many different possible scenarios, and no matter what way the situation is going to go, whether positive or negative, it is going to involve the community, the caregivers, and the adolescent. It is in everyone s best interest to make the experience a positive one that is conducive to success for the adolescent, as they are going to become a part of the community; contributing whatever it is that they have gained developmentally.

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References

About.com - Teens http://parentingteens.about.com/od/agesandstages/f/teen_identity.htm

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-personal/

Wikipedia Erikson s Stages of Development, Individuation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erikson%27s_stages_of_psychosocial_development

Mass General Hospital for Children http://www.massgeneral.org/children/adolescenthealth/articles/aa_music.aspx

Questia Shaw, Susan M., Kleiber, Douglas A., & Caldwell, Linda L. (1995). Leisure and identity formation in male and female adolescents: a preliminary examination. Journal of Leisure Research, 27. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LyQZNg1j9YdnLLHZ5nHVL5WD8XGbyvZH41SL1R gyh5x71yMM4p4G!-517935164!1122893772?docId=5000347810

Feiler, Rachelle, & Tomonari, Dana. (n.d.). Stages of Growth Child Development - Early Childhood (Birth to Eight Years), Middle Childhood (Eight to Twelve Years). State University. Retrieved (2009, December 24) from Stages of Growth Child Development - Early Childhood (Birth to Eight Years), Middle Childhood (Eight to Twelve Years)

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