10.1 Identity

Psychosocial development during adolescence is often considered the search for self-understanding. Self-expression and self-concept become increasingly important, as the egocentrism described in Chapter 9 illustrates. Each young person wants to know “Who am I?”

According to Erik Erikson, life’s fifth psychosocial crisis is identity versus role confusion: Negotiating the complexities of finding one’s own identity is the primary task of adolescence (Erikson, 1968). He said this crisis is resolved with identity achievement, when adolescents have reconsidered the goals and values of their parents and culture, accepting some and discarding others, and discerning their own identity. The result is neither wholesale rejection nor unquestioning acceptance of social norms (Côté, 2009).

Not Yet Achieved

Erikson’s insights have inspired thousands of researchers. Notable among them was James Marcia, who described and measured four specific ways in which young people cope with this stage of life: (1) role confusion, (2) foreclosure, (3) moratorium, and (4) identity achievement (Marcia, 1966). The first three will be described here.

First, however, you need to know about a historical change. Over the past half-century, major psychosocial shifts have lengthened the duration of adolescence and made identity achievement more complex (Côté, 2006; Kroger et al., 2010; Meeus, 2011). Although Marcia’s way stations on the road to identity achievement still seem evident, the path is longer and more circuitous. Indeed, several aspects of the identity search, especially for sexual and vocational identity, have become more arduous than when Erikson wrote about them. Adolescents still seek identity, but developmentalists believe that this crisis is rarely resolved by age 18: Studies of adults reveal that identity is a lifelong process (Meeus, 2011).

Role confusion is the opposite of identity achievement. Characterized by lack of commitment to any goals or values, role confusion is sometimes called identity diffusion to emphasize that some adolescents seem diffuse, unfocused, and unconcerned about their future (Phillips & Pittman, 2007). Even common social demands—such as putting away clothes, making friends, completing school assignments, and thinking about a post-secondary education or career—are beyond role-confused adolescents. Instead, they might sleep too much, immerse themselves in video games or mind-numbing television, and turn from one flirtation to another. Their thinking is disorganized, they procrastinate, and they avoid issues and actions (Côté, 2009).

Identity foreclosure occurs when young people accept traditional values (Marcia, 1966; Marcia et al., 1993). They might follow roles and customs transmitted from their parents or culture, rarely exploring alternatives. Or they might foreclose on an oppositional, negative identity—the direct opposite of whatever their parents want—again without thoughtful questioning. Foreclosure is comfortable. For many, it is a temporary shelter, a time for commitment to a particular identity, which will be followed by more exploration (Meeus, 2011).

A more mature shelter is moratorium, a time out that includes some exploration, either in breadth (trying many things) or in depth (examining one path after making a tentative commitment) (Meeus, 2011). Societies provide many opportunities for moratoria, such as post-secondary education or volunteering overseas, allowing adolescents to postpone identity achievement. Moratorium is most common at about age 19, although it can occur earlier or later (Kroger et al., 2010).

Five Arenas of Identity Formation

Erikson’s (1968) view on identity versus role confusion is claimed to be the cornerstone of his theory. Individuals struggle to develop a sense of wholeness, connecting their views of self in childhood to their views of self in adulthood and the self as perceived by others. Thus, identity is formed through exchanges with others, which then become integrated in the formation of one’s sense of self (Sneed et al., 2006).

Erikson (1968) highlighted four aspects of identity: religious, political, vocational, and sexual. Although terminology and timing have changed—for example, the process of identity formation has been found to be a lifelong process—each still merits examination. Also, with the increased numbers of immigrant youth globally, many researchers have been exploring a fifth aspect of identity formation, ethnic identity, which we will also discuss.

Religious IdentitySome theorists believe that people categorize themselves (as well as others) into groups based on various characteristics, like religion. Burris and Jackson (2000) contend that “religion has been numbered—along with gender, ethnicity, and nationality—among the core social categories around which an individual’s social identity is organized” (p. 257). More than 80 percent of people in the world follow one of the five major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism (Kriger & Seng, 2005).

Same Situation, Far Apart: Exploring Religious Identity An Orthodox Jewish boy lighting Hanukkah candles in Israel (left) and teenagers in Alberta with Bishop Fred Henry of the Catholic Diocese of Calgary (right) are much alike, despite distance and appearance. For many teenagers, religion provides meaning as well as coping skills (King & Roeser, 2009).

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CARLOS AMAT/CALGARY SUN/QMI AGENCY

A Religious Life These young adolescents in Ethiopia are studying to be monks. Will the rituals and beliefs provide them with a way to achieve identity?

ROB HOWARD/CORBIS

Past parental practices influence adolescents’ religious identity. Some adolescents may question specific beliefs as their cognitive processes allow more reflection, but few have a crisis of faith unless unusual circumstances propel it (King & Roeser, 2009). In fact, some adolescents may turn to religion in ways that their parents do not anticipate. For example, a Muslim girl raised in a non-traditional home might start to wear a headscarf, or a Catholic boy might study for the priesthood, or a Baptist teenager might join a Pentecostal youth group. Usually religious exploration is part of the search for identity—a process that currently lasts long past the teen years (Alisat & Pratt, 2012).

Political IdentityAs with religion, parents influence the development of their children’s political identity, even when that political identity is a disinterest in politics—not the political identity that Erikson anticipated. Like their parents, teenage children may proudly say they do not care about politics—a stance that is likely to continue into adulthood (Côté, 2009). For example, in Canada, young people are generally less interested in politics and less likely to vote than older adults, particularly if they live in an urban centre (Blais & Loewen, 2011).

Champion of Girls’ Rights Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old Pakistani girl, receives the 2013 International Children’s Peace Prize in The Hague, the Netherlands.

ROBIN UTRECHT/XINHUA/LANDOV

Other teenagers become very politically engaged. The case of Malala Yousafzai is only one such example. Malala is a schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban in Swat, Pakistan, for campaigning for a girl’s right to attend school and receive an education. Another example is youth involvement in the democracy movement that has gained momentum in several Arab countries in North Africa and the Middle East. For instance, in both Egypt and Tunisia, more than half the population is less than 30 years of age, and in both these countries (Tunisia in 2011 and Egypt in 2012) dictators were forced to give way to democratically elected governments. As more and more young people join the democracy movement, they organize their own factions, such as “Youth for Change,” and use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to draw their peers into political activism and to swell the numbers attending political demonstrations (Lange, 2011).

A word here about political and religious extremism. People who are relatively young (under age 30) are often on the front lines of revolutions or are disciples within groups that their elders consider cults. Fanatical political and religious movements have much in common: The age range of most new adherents is one of them (L. L. Dawson, 2010). However, adolescents are rarely drawn to these groups unless personal loneliness or family background (such as a parent’s death caused by an opposing group) compels them. It is a myth that every teenager is potentially a suicide bomber or willing martyr.

The topic of political identity brings up the subject of identity politics, the tendency to identify with and vote for people of one’s own race, religion, ethnicity, or sex (Bernstein, 2005; McClain et al., 2009). Identity politics is more like foreclosure than achievement because it precludes questioning and rational analysis. The identity politics that seems most attractive to youth is generational: They might reject an older member of their race, religion, or ethnic group in favour of a candidate of a different race, religion, or ethnicity who is under age 30 and who shares their views on topics such as interracial dating, gay marriage, and economic inequality.

Hope and Anger Adolescents and young adults everywhere demonstrate against adult authority as they seek to establish their political identity, with varied strategies and results. In Cairo’s Tahrir Square (left), this young man flashes the peace sign hours before President Mubarak’s resignation. The 2011 “Arab Spring” in other nations was not as successful. French students (right) protest cuts in high school staff, but their demands were resisted by the government. Worldwide, social change is fuelled by youthful aspirations—sometimes leading to victory, sometimes to despair.

ALAMY
PHILIPPE WOJAZER/REUTERS

Vocational IdentityVocational identity means envisioning oneself as a worker in a particular occupation. Decades ago, it was thought that a person would hold this occupation for life. Once adolescents established a vocational identity, it would help them determine what courses to take in high school and whether to aim for college or university. Today, however, most workers do not hold the same job throughout their lives. According to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, most Canadians will have about three careers and eight jobs over their lifetime (Feigelsohn, 2013). As a result, definitive early vocational identity is no longer a realistic, or necessary, goal.

This does not mean, however, that beginning to establish career goals and a vocational identity are irrelevant. As explained in Chapter 9, adolescents are more likely to be engaged in their education if they believe that they are learning skills they will need. A specific vocational identity takes years to establish, but wanting to become a self-sufficient adult motivates many young people.

Some adolescents may begin to establish their vocational identity through part-time employment. Finding a job may be a challenge, though. In Canada in 2012, the gap between youth (15 to 24 years of age) and adult employment rates was the widest in 35 years. The youth unemployment rate was just over 14 percent, compared with 6 percent for adults. This was largely because employment rates for young people had still not returned to the rates that existed before the economic recession that began in 2008 (Bernard, 2013).

Even for teenagers who do find part-time employment, the benefits may be questionable. Working over vacations or for a few hours during the school week may provide teenagers with wages and a sense of pride. However, if teens work too many hours, grades fall, since work hours interfere with homework, extra help, and school attendance. In addition, adolescents who work more than 20 hours a week during the school year tend to quit school, fight with parents, smoke cigarettes, and hate their jobs—in adulthood as well as adolescence (Staff & Schulenberg, 2010). Only a tiny and shrinking minority—alienated from school but appreciated, mentored, and promoted at work—benefit from intense teenage employment.

Same Situation, Far Apart: Gender Identity Around the world, clothing, behaviour, and appearance are used to express gender identity; however, the specific ways in which gender identity is expressed vary from place to place. For instance, these girls from Guelph, Ontario, (left) have uncovered heads, unlike the girls from Indonesia (right) whose heads are covered. However, the ways that girls everywhere laugh together and hold each other may be universal.

JULIA KIBBLE
TOM COCKREM/LONELY PLANET MAGES/GETTY IMAGES

Gender IdentityAs stated in Chapter 6, for social scientists sex and sexual refer to biological characteristics, whereas gender refers to cultural and social attributes. The distinction between biology and culture is not always obvious, since the body is affected by behaviour and vice versa. Nonetheless, today Erikson’s term sexual identity has been replaced by gender identity (Denny & Pittman, 2007), which refers primarily to a person’s self-definition of male or female.

Gender identity often (but not always) begins with the person’s biological sex and leads to a gender role, one that society considers appropriate for that gender. Gender roles once meant that only men were employed; they were breadwinners (good providers) and women were housewives (married to their houses). When women entered the labour market in large numbers in the 1970s, gender roles expanded but remained distinct, as with secretary/businessman, nurse/doctor, pink collar/blue collar. Now vocational roles are increasingly unisex.

It is apparent that gender identity is much more complicated than once thought (Perry & Pauletti, 2011). An increasing number of adolescents feel that they do not identify with their biological sex. In some places, it may be possible for these children to be treated as a member of the opposite sex by adopting different clothing and friends—or even, in adolescence, by trying hormone treatments. But others may not be able to transition to another gender as easily and may suffer from feeling they do not match their biological sex. These children may be diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a new DSM-5 diagnosis that describes the distress individuals may feel as a consequence of feeling that they are in “the wrong body.”

Ethnic IdentityEspecially today and in a country like Canada, many researchers contend that another aspect of identity development that needs to be considered is ethnic identity, sometimes referred to as ethnocultural identity or cultural identity. Canada has the second-highest percentage of immigrants as compared to its total population of any country in the world (after Australia), and is home to people with more than 200 different ethnic origins (Statistics Canada, 2008a).

Many researchers have examined the ways in which new immigrants re-create their personal identity in their new home country. Ethnic identity in its most basic sense is usually a combination of a person’s self-concept as a member of a social group or groups and the emotional significance that attaches to that membership (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Thus, ethnic identity includes both personal and group identities that develop over time.

John Berry of Queen’s University and his colleagues studied the way that ethnic identity is modified in young people by the experience of immigration to a new country. The researchers examined more than 5000 youths from 13 immigrant-receiving countries, and found four types of ethnic-identity formation (Berry et al., 2006):

1. an integrated identity in which youths maintain their heritage identity while incorporating aspects of the settlement, or new country, identity
2. a separated identity in which youths maintain their heritage identity while rejecting the settlement identity
3. a national identity in which youths reject their heritage identity and replace it with the settlement identity
4. a diffuse identity in which youths reject both their heritage and their settlement identity.

Berry’s study revealed that most youths prefer an integrated identity if only because it is the most adaptive of the four types (Sam & Virta, 2001; Stuart & Ward, 2011). It is also a type of ethnic identity that is well received in a country like Canada, where legislation such as the Multiculturalism Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee the rights of all individuals to their own identity (Bourhis et al., 1997).

Instant Connections Having friends of the same ethnicity—who support one another while understanding the historical, practical, and social customs and challenges of the ethnic group—helps adolescents achieve ethnic identity.

FRANCES ROBERTS/ALAMY