Adolescent Identity Formation Research Articles

Longitudinal Trajectories of Identity Formation and Resilience Development in Adolescents Living in Under-Resourced Communities

Identity and resilience are critical during adolescence, especially when facing contextual challenges. This longitudinal study explored the trajectories of identity and resilience in adolescents (n = 546; MAge = 16.22) living in an under-resourced South African community. Associations between identity and resilience were analyzed across three time points using repeated measures ANOVA’s. The dimensions of identity did not vary substantially across time, but resilience scores fluctuated significantly. Participants with high resilience showed a substantial decrease in Exploration in Depth over time, while participants with low resilience showed an increase. The findings provide insights into how to foster resilience in adolescents living in under-resourced communities.

Analisis Self Presenting Remaja di Media Sosial

This study examines how adolescents engage in self-presentation on social media. The research employs a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques include observation, interviews, and documentation. The validity of the data is ensured through triangulation techniques, specifically method triangulation and source triangulation. The results show that adolescents in Gebangan Village, particularly those from middle-class families, tend to present themselves in roles of social climbing within the realms of motivators and socialites for reasons of happiness, enjoyment, and entertainment, both for themselves and for the media. This behavior is adopted to adapt and avoid feeling left behind, as well as to positively increase followers or friendships. Additionally, it was found that adolescents often use social media as a means to seek social validation and support from peers. This study provides new insights into adolescent behavior on social media and makes a significant contribution to understanding how social media influences the construction of social identity among adolescents. These findings can serve as a basis for further research on the psychological impact of self-presentation on social media and its influence on adolescent identity formation.

Identifying links between athletic identity and risk factors related to youth sport participation.

The development of identity formation occurs during adolescence through experiences, ideals and principle. With greater accessibility to sports, recent trends have shown increased rates of sports specialization over the past decade in youth athletes. Athletic identity measures the strength an individual is tied to the athlete role and can be formed in conjunction to adolescent identity formation. More specialized youth athletes may have stronger ties to their athletic identity during their adolescent identity formation period. Youth basketball athletes were surveyed on specialization levels and athletic identity via the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), including three submeasures: social identity, exclusivity, and negative affectivity. Participants showed stronger identification to social identity items and the weakest identification with exclusivity items. Athletes reporting more time spent playing their primary sport presented higher scores across all measures of athletic identity, and total athletic identity was stronger in athletes reporting specialization at an earlier age. Exclusivity and negative affectivity tended to increase with specialization level which may primarily be driven by specialized athletes choosing to quit non-primary sports. Athletic identity may be worth noting as a psychological indicator of potential risk of injury. The long-term goal of this work is to provide the research and clinical community a greater understanding of a potential psychosocial risk factor as youth athletes continue specializing and spending more time training in a singular sport.

Quality of Friendship on Identity Formation in Adolescents in Surabaya

Adolescence is a transition period from childhood to adulthood that has a developmental task to shape their identity. Adolescence is a time when individuals spend more time with friends, interact more with peers and do many activities together with peers. The purpose of this study is to look at the relationship between the quality of friendship and the dimension of identity formation in adolescents. This research is a quantitative survey with the criteria for teenage respondents domiciled in Surabaya aged 12-21 years (N=489) as well as the provisions that have been set by the research in accordance with the research objectives. Data was obtained using open questionnaires related to demographic data and closed questionnaires with friendship quality scale (Friendship Quality Scale) and identity dimension scale (Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitmens Scale). The contained data was analyzed using the Spearman Non Parametic relationship test. The results of the analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between the quality of friendship and the commitment dimension (r=0,496 and p=0.001) and the depth exploration dimension (r=0,427 and p=0.001) but there was no significant relationship with the commitment review dimension (r=-0,049 and p=0,275). Commitment is an indicator of an individual's success in achieving identity based on an in-depth exploration process with the role of the quality of friends in the process so that the identity achieved by the individual is in accordance with.Remaja merupakan masa transisi dari kanak-kanak menjadi dewasa yang memiliki tugas perkembangan untuk membentuk identitas dirinya. Masa remaja merupakan masa individu menghabiskan waktu lebih banyak bersama dengan teman-teman, lebih banyak berinteraksi dengan teman sebaya serta melakukan banyak aktivitas bersama dengan teman sebaya. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk melihat hubungan antara kualitas pertemanan dan dimensi pembentukan identitas pada remaja. Penelitian ini bersifat kuantitatif survei dengan kriteria responden remaja berdomisili di Surabaya berusia 12-21 tahun (N=489) serta ketentuan-ketentuan yang telah ditetapkan oleh penelitian yang sesuai dengan tujuan penelitian. Data diperoleh dengan menggunakan angket terbuka terkait dengan data demografis dan angket tertutup dengan skala kualitas pertemanan (Friendship Quality Scale) dan skala dimensi identitas (Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitmens Scale). Data yang tertampung dianalisis dengan menggunakan uji hubungan Non Parametik Spearman. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara kualitas pertemanan dengan dimensi komitmen (r=0,496 dan p=0,001) dan dimensi eksplorasi mendalam (r=0,427 dan p=0,001) namun tidak terdapat hubungan yang signifikan dengan dimensi peninjauan kembali komitmen (r=-0,049 dan p=0,275). Komitmen merupakan indikator keberhasilan individu mencapai identitas berdasarkan proses eksplorasi mendalam dengan peran kualitas perteman dalam proses proses tersebut sehingga identitas yang dicapai oleh individu sesuai dengan dirinya.

Promoting adolescents' cultural identity development: A pilot study of the identity project intervention in Italy.

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the Italian adaptation of the Identity Project (IP), a school-based intervention promoting cultural identity formation in adolescence. Participants were 138 adolescents (Mage = 15.66 years, SD = 0.84, 63% female, 37% of immigrant descent) from nine classrooms that were assigned to the intervention or control condition based on teachers' indications to ensure sustainability. The curriculum was delivered online due to COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions in spring 2021. Youth self-reported on their cultural identity exploration and resolution 1 week before and 1 week after the intervention. Feedback on the cultural appropriateness and salience of the program was gathered from students and teachers via online focus groups. The analysis of qualitative data supported the feasibility and acceptability of the culturally adapted IP, with students expressing appreciation for its interactive approach and the possibility to learn about their classmates' cultural origins. Analysis of quantitative data indicated that the program led to increases in cultural identity resolution, but not exploration. This pilot implementation confirms the importance of intervening in cultural identity development in multiethnic classrooms in Italy, although further work is necessary to better understand if nonsignificant findings for exploration were due to measurement issues introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic or if program modifications are necessary to stimulate adolescents' engagement in exploration processes. Delivering the activities in person and without social distancing measures may be crucial to increase its efficacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Personal and illness identity in youth with type 1 diabetes: Developmental trajectories and associations.

Having Type 1 diabetes (T1D) may complicate the normative developmental task of personal identity formation in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Besides exploring and committing to identity choices in different life domains, youth with T1D need to integrate their illness into their identity, a process labeled as illness identity. The present study examined whether youth with T1D belonging to different personal identity trajectory classes developed differently on four illness identity dimensions (acceptance, enrichment, engulfment, rejection). This four-wave longitudinal study over a 3-year period used self-report questionnaires to examine how personal identity trajectory classes were related to illness identity over time in youth with T1D (baseline: n = 558; 54% female; age range = 14-25 years). Personal identity trajectory classes were identified using latent class growth analysis. Differential development of the four illness identity dimensions among these personal identity trajectory classes was examined using multigroup latent growth curve modeling. Five personal identity trajectory classes were identified: achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, carefree diffusion, and troubled diffusion. Individuals in achievement and foreclosure displayed highest levels of diabetes integration (i.e., high levels of acceptance and enrichment; low levels of engulfment and rejection), whereas individuals in troubled diffusion displayed lowest levels of illness integration (i.e., low levels of acceptance and enrichment; high levels of engulfment and rejection). The present study confirms that personal identity development relates to illness identity development over time in youth with T1D. Understanding the intricate link between personal and illness identity may help clinicians to tailor their interventions to patients' individual needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

“It's a part of what I am, but not all of who I am”: A qualitative study of identity formation in adolescents and emerging adults with type 1 diabetes

“It's a part of what I am, but not all of who I am”: A qualitative study of identity formation in adolescents and emerging adults with type 1 diabetes

Up the staircase of reading

The article addresses the “lowest floors“ of reading skills, in an attempt to formulate assumptions as to the conditions that can be provided by school and family together, so that some reading difficulties may be overcome. In addition to “evidence”: qualitative research of particular aspects of reading as opposed to the overall act of reading, the “lowest floors” are also seen to include the skill level of the reader. Our work takes its bearings from the understanding that “closing gaps” inside the boundless field of various research on reading could be productive for educational practice, as well as that “upper floors”: interpretation skills, influence directly the identity formation of adolescents, such that they will be in their lives as adults. Given parental participation, we would be interested mainly in leverage points ways of compensating reading difficulties.

Psychosocial development measures modification for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Although diagnosis and identification of IDD is improving, adolescents with IDD receive limited attention in research, particularly concerning their psychosocial development. Measures developed and normed with typically developing populations may not be appropriate for IDD populations and may result in biased assessment. This study aimed to develop and validate modified psychosocial development assessments for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), addressing the absence of such assessments. It involved two phases: modifying existing instruments and validating the revised versions. Four stakeholder groups participated: adolescents with IDD, parents, and scholars in adolescent developmental and disabilities. Validation included two groups: neurotypical adolescents completing both measures and IDD adolescents completing modified measures. Confirmatory factor analyses identified the need to adjust or eliminate scales for better understanding by individuals with IDD. The modified instruments provided suitable measures for assessing psychosocial development in adolescents with IDD. All the scales allowed for accommodation toward comprehension for those with IDD except for identity formation. Further work is needed to understand the challenges associated with assessing identity formation in adolescents with IDD. The active involvement of and participation from adolescents with IDD and their parents in this research was paramount to understanding their comprehension and needs. This study highlights the importance of tailored assessments for accurate measurement of IDD individuals' development, benefiting the assessment of all adolescents.

COVID-19-related stress exacerbates the effect of child maltreatment on negative affect via increased identity confusion during adolescence.

Exposure to childhood maltreatment may undermine the crucial developmental task of identity formation in adolescence, placing them at risk for developing negative affect. The current study investigated whether COVID-19-related stress intensified the indirect link between child maltreatment and adolescents' negative affect through identity confusion. Using multidimensional assessments of child maltreatment (threat vs. deprivation), the study included a sample of 124 adolescents (Mage = 12.89, SD = 0.79; 52% female) assessed before (January 2018 to March 2020) and during the pandemic (May to October 2020) in Georgia, United States. The majority of the participants were European American (78.8%), followed by African American (11.5%), Hispanic (3.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%), and other (4.8%). We used structural equation modeling to test (a) the mediating role of identity confusion in the link between childhood maltreatment and negative affect and (b) whether COVID-19-related stress moderated these indirect effects. Simple slopes and Johnson-Neyman plots were generated to probe regions of significant interaction effects. Threat and deprivation predicted an increase in adolescent identity confusion. Additionally, childhood threat and deprivation were indirectly linked to adolescents' negative affect through increased levels of identity confusion. COVID-19-related stress significantly exacerbated the link between identity confusion and negative affect. Identity confusion is a mechanism underlying the link between child maltreatment and the development of negative affect in adolescence. Our results inform prevention and intervention programs that aim to reduce negative affect among adolescents who experience threatening and depriving rearing environments.

Cultural Identity and the Academic, Social, and Psychological Adjustment of Adolescents with Immigration Background

As Western societies become more ethnically and culturally diverse, understanding the acculturation of immigrant youth is essential for fostering social cohesion. How the cultural identity formation of ethnic minority adolescents relates to their academic, social, and psychological adjustment is an important and as yet unresolved research question. This study examined to what extent identifying with the heritage and/or host culture is an individual resource or risk factor for the adjustment of immigrant youth in Germany. A random sample of 15–17-year-olds (N = 1992; Mage_w1 = 15.3 years, SD = 0.64; 44.5% girls; 44.7% students with immigrant background) was assessed twice: at the end of 9th and 10th grade. Academic performance and three dimensions of social/psychological adjustment (school attachment, self-esteem, and life satisfaction) were examined. Results showed that biculturalism was the modal identification pattern. Contrary to expectations, cultural identification did not differ systematically with perceived distance from the majority culture. Multivariate structural equation modeling revealed that both heritage and host identification can be developmental resources, but that their effects are dependent on the dimension of adjustment; biculturalism only proved to be a cumulative resource for school attachment. The domain specificity of the findings challenges the generalization claims of predominant acculturation theories.

Identity formation in adolescence and emerging adulthood: a process-oriented and applied perspective

ABSTRACT Identity formation constitutes the core developmental task youth face on their way to adulthood. Identity has increasingly been identified as a key construct for understanding both optimal and pathological functioning in community and clinical populations of different ages. The present article describes the five-dimensional identity model, and subsequent research conducted at our centre, and details how this research line has increasingly focused on assessing the clinical relevance of (neo-)Eriksonian identity constructs. Specific attention is paid to the role of identity formation for individuals adjusting to chronic illness. In so doing, the illness identity framework is introduced and relevant studies are reviewed. We end with suggestions for future research and emphasize the need for more integrative research crossing the boundaries of specific approaches (e.g., integrating process- and content-based approaches) if we want to move the field forward and inform clinical practice.

A Proper Confidence: The Prophetic Nature of Adolescent Discipleship

Abstract This paper argues that to help adolescents respond to Jesus’ call to pick up their cross and follow him, the contemporary Pentecostal/Charismatic practice of prophecy/revelatory experience must be reimagined and framed within the ministry of Christ. Without this Christocentric framework these experiences are reduced to immediate therapeutic experiences of individual flourishing and are not sufficient to redefine the adolescent’s past and offer direction for a future developing faith identity. Synthesis of Walter Brueggemann’s The Prophetic Imagination, with adolescent identity formation and critique of the contemporary Pentecostal practice of prophecy highlights implications for realigned practice in order to foster the confidence in adolescent believers to form counter cultural identities in light of the Coming Kingdom.

The Role of Future Orientation as a Mediator Between Responsive Parenting and Adolescent Identity Formation

Responsive parenting contributes to positive adolescent development, including identity formation. However, previous research has not described the relationship between responsive parenting and identity formation. This research examines the role of future orientation as a mediator in the relationship between responsive parenting and identity formation. A total of 450 adolescents were involved in the study, which included early (12-15 years old), middle (15-18 years old), and late (18-20 years old) adolescents. Additionally, the Parental Responsiveness Scale, the Future subscale from the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, and the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitment Scale were used to assess responsive parenting, future orientation, and identity formation. According to the results, future orientation can mediate the relationship between responsive parenting with commitment and in-depth exploration. Furthermore, this research found that responsive parenting can predict reconsideration of commitment. These findings indicate that this parenting has two sides, one being it can lead adolescents to develop future orientations, resulting in optimal identity formation. On the other hand, it directs adolescents to reconsider their commitments as an indicator of a suboptimal identity formation process.

Factors Reducing the Risk of Social Maladjustment: A Narrative Approach to Adolescent Identity Formation

The research aimed to check if the construction of narrative identity by adolescents at risk of maladjustment contributes to their adaptive social functioning. It also aimed to identify factors related to identity on which the adjustment of adolescents at risk of social maladjustment depends. A natural experiment was conducted in Poland among youths from sociotherapy centres (n = 60, aged 18–20 years, 33 women and 27 men). A group of graduates at these centres (n = 31, aged 21–24 years, 17 women and 14 men) was included in the exploratory study and compared with the group of students in terms of maladjustment, ego-resiliency, and identity. The experiment shows that the construction of a narrative identity through a life story interview contributes to better social adaptation, which means a lower risk of maladjustment. The diffuse-avoidant identity style predisposes to maladjustment, whereas ego-resiliency is associated with a higher level of adjustment. Thus the narrative interview method can find application in the therapy of adolescents at risk of maladjustment.

The role of identity in the development of depressive, anxiety, and psychosis symptoms in adolescents exposed to childhood adversity.

Childhood adversity is a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders and has especially been associated with an admixture of depressive, anxiety, and psychosis symptoms. Identity formation, a main developmental task during adolescence, may be impacted by these adverse experiences and act as an important process in the association between childhood adversity and psychopathology. We investigated the association between childhood adversity, identity formation, and depressive, anxiety, and psychosis symptoms cross-sectionally in 1913 Flemish adolescents between 11 and 20 years old (mean = 13.76, SD = 1.86). Adolescents completed questionnaires during the first wave of the SIGMA study between January 2018 and May 2019. Childhood interpersonal adversity was associated with increased identity confusion and decreased identity synthesis. Additionally, identity confusion was associated with increased self-reported levels of psychopathology and potentially mediated the association between childhood adversity and psychopathology. This study highlights the importance of promoting healthy identity formation in adolescents with and without exposure to adverse childhood experiences.

Study of the Moral Identity of the Younger Adolescent

The article is devoted to the study of the moral identity of a younger teenager. The author analyzes the philosophical and pedagogical grounds for the problem of the moral identity of a person, accepted in domestic and foreign pedagogy. The study is carried out in line with the axiological approach, during which the term “morality” is considered as a set of value orientations of an individual and the concept of “identity” as an awareness of one’s own uniqueness, on the one hand, and a sense of internal solidarity with social ideals, on the other. The author specifies the concept of “moral identity of a younger teenager” as a set of value characteristics of a person, which are formed through correlation of oneself with one’s age role, social status, existential essence in accordance with the moral norms inherent in social communities to which one feels one’s belonging and belonging, and on the basis of which relationships in the teenage community are built and independent vital decisions are made. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that a system of psychological and pedagogical diagnostics of the moral identity of a younger teenager has been developed. The article presents the methods: “Definition of moral concepts” according to L. S. Kolmogorova; Cattell test, 12PF/CPQ; scale of existence, ESK Frankl; method of M. Rokeach “Value orientations” as the most popular in the study of the moral identity of a person. The essential, substantive and diagnostic characteristics of the concept under study are scientifically substantiated. The shortcomings in the level of the moral identity formation of younger adolescents are revealed. The necessity of purposeful work are focused on spiritual, moral and cultural values formation which form the basis of self-organization of the activity and behavioral components of the identity of younger adolescents.

Gender identity formation in adolescence: A review of gender diversity

The goal of this article is to summarize what is now understood about pathways and influencing elements in adolescence’s gender identity formation. We provide a brief review of identity in terms of gender historically and discuss the emergence of general identities during adolescence, gender identities in the populace at large, and the emergence of gender diversity identities in young people. We are focusing in this article that the medical practitioner’s responsibility in managing gender identity for contribution.

Effect of nurturing attitudes on identity formation in adolescence. focus on resilience

Effect of nurturing attitudes on identity formation in adolescence. focus on resilience

The Romanticization of Mental Illness and Adolescent Identity Formation: Marina and the Diamond’s Electra Heart

ABSTRACT Marina and the Diamonds’ album, Electra Heart (2012), by glamorizing suffering, provides adolescents an avenue to find solidarity with others who are self-critical and depressed. Adolescents of the 2010s have formed their identities by crowdsourcing on the internet in response to this album. The character of Electra Heart represents a modern-day negative ego ideal for adolescents. Idealization of her character fans the flames of narcissistic destructive behavior in adolescents, but also provides a way for adolescent girls to symbolize and express negative feelings without acting on them.