As teenagers begin to move out from under their parents’ control
one of their most important tasks is to form a sense of their own identity
a sense of themselves as distinct both from their parents and from their peers.
Erik Erikson claimed that identity formation was the chief challenge of adolescence.
He observed that most teens go through an identity crisis
as they struggle to answer the questions “Who am I?” and “Where am I headed?”
Other researchers have expanded and refined Erikson’s concept of identity formation.
James Marcia has been perhaps the most influential.
He developed techniques for measuring a person’s progress through the identity-formation process.
Before we describe Marcia’s contribution to research on identity formation
let’s explore your own progress toward developing an identity.