ABSTRACT
There are three key themes for this research involving Tony and Jo as seen in being their principle ‘identity’ and how this relates to Erickson’s stage theory of identity development are as follows: workaholic, spiritual minded and egocentric individuals as they feel themselves when it comes to their position in adolescents’ pantheon of influence and admiration. This research is concerned with the importance of identity exploration and development experiencing the life process of being adolescents. The process of exploration and development provides a description of Erickson’s (1968) theory that identity formation during adolescence will point out ways of thinking that exerts a positive influence on adolescents’ principle identity.
INTRODUCTION
Erickson’s theory is unique among developmental theories in that he attempted to describe the process of development over the course of the lifespan. He described this process as one that requires individuals to accomplish specific psychosocial tasks during eight developmental periods and be described as an attempt, on the part of each individual, to figure out how he or she relates to the world. Erickson was clear that establishing identity during adolescence is no easy task. He believed that for an identity to be truly viable, it must confer both a sense of uniqueness and, simultaneously, provide a sense of unity or sameness. In order to achieve a sense of uniqueness, adolescents must define themselves as distinct from parents and peers, not merely as extensions of them. A viable identity must also help the adolescent to feel some sense of unity or sameness. The adolescent’s identity must maintain continuity among the past, present, and future. To do this, the identity must be plausible, in the adolescent’s mind, based on his or her experiences in the past in order to be one that can realistically forecast the future. With this type of identity, an adolescent will not only know who she is in the present and how she arrived at her present state, but also who she will be in the future.
Identity development stage has been an area of particular interest, commencing with attempts to operationalize Erickson’s conceptualization of the growing-up process of young people. The central issues of crisis and commitment correspond to Erickson’s concept of identity achievement. Each of Erickson’s stages leading to adolescence, the focus of which is upon identity development, concerns itself with the successful resolution of issues which are most consistent with male socialization (Gilligan, 1979, p. 437). Creating an environment that is safe for identity growth is critical, according to Erickson, because, “the dominant issue of this stage is the assurance that the active, the selective ego is in charge and enabled to be in charge by a social structure which grants a given age group the place it needs and in which it is needed” (246). According to Erickson, exploration is at the heart of the adolescent transition. In his words, exploration is the identity crisis, although crises are not necessarily acute or severe (Erickson, 1959). The remaking of personal identity, which is necessary to complete the transition, was said to be dependent on exploration. Erickson has characterized adolescent identity exploration as being accompanied by fluctuations in ego strength.
METHOD
The sample consisted of 50 high school students (25 males; 25 females) between 14 and 17 years of age who had completed their junior year. It was comprised of two groups of students attending Summer Science and Mathematics. The instruments used were the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Ego-Identity Interview (Grotevant & Cooper, 1981). Adolescent norms were used for scoring the clinical scales (Archer, 1987). Separate adolescent norms were not available for the Frequency Scored Scales. The Ego-Identity Interview (Grotevant & Cooper, 1981) was based on Marcia’s (1964) operationalization of Erickson’s theory (1968) regarding adolescence as a time of increased exploration and commitment. The semi-structured interview was designed to gather evidence of exploration and commitment in six domains: occupation, religion, politics, friendships and sex roles. It examined both the depth and the breadth of exploration which influenced the values, beliefs, and goals of the adolescent. The breadth of exploration was ascertained by the number of alternatives considered as questions attempted to tap the extent of the “struggle” doubts about beliefs or ideas.
Procedure
Each subject scheduled approximately two hours with the researchers. The paper-and-pencil measures were completed first, followed by the interview. Subjects were told that the purpose of the research was to examine personal development and family relations in adolescence. Each interviewer interviewed half of the subjects interviews were audio taped. The students also were given training in the ethics of confidentiality. Science ethics in general was included as part of the formal instruction. The taped interviews were transcribed following the criteria offered in the Grotevant & Cooper (1981) manual which provides criteria from which to score exploration and commitment in each domain. After a training phase, each interviewer independently scored every interview. Reliabilities were calculated in a manner similar to that used by Grotevant and Cooper (1985). These were based on the number of agreements between two raters, divided by the total number of judgments in ratings of exploration and commitment across the six domains of identity.
ANALYSIS
In the process of gleaning insights for spiritual identity development from making certain assumptions about spirituality as the reality of the soul; humans are spiritual beings as the conceptualization of spiritual identity is similar to the theistic model of human development proposed by Richards and Bergin (1997). These assumptions clearly distinguish spiritual identity development from other forms of social development, hat God exists and that humans are in fact spiritual in nature, the concept of spiritual identity has little merit, being merely a different aspect of social identity. The validity of a model of spiritual identity development depends on the veracity of theistic assumptions, which are ignored or denied by other conceptualizations of identity. Erickson (1968) has stressed the need for supportive interactions with significant others in order to provide strength during phases of ego destructuring. If the results of the present study are sustained and elaborated, they will be helpful in guiding adolescents, their parents, and others in sophisticated patterns of support in sustaining positive gains in identity. The adolescents were more comfortable talking about social and familial aspects of identity, while they had reservations about discussing physical and personal issues. This might be due to the fact that their social and familial identities were well developed.
DISCUSSION
The findings support Erickson’s concept that exploration is at the heart of the identity crisis suggests that identity exploration is associated with a decline in ego strength, and with symptoms related to the use of ego defenses. The decline in ego strength implies a reduced capacity for coping with problems and stress. For a more fine-grained description of the signs and symptoms of adolescent identity exploration, as found in this study, we can draw on the work of Graham (1987). Using common interpretations of the MMPI scales comprising the IEC factor, say that adolescents who are actively involved in the exploration process are more likely than their low-exploring peers to manifest inner confusion, agitation, dissatisfaction, unhappiness, periodic episodes of depression, a vacillation between poor self-concept and grandiosity, and disturbed thinking. The present findings support the writings of others that the formation of symptoms may occur when the ego is undergoing a destructuring process, i.e., during periods of active self exploration (Josselyn, 1973; Cote & Levine, 1987; Chandler, Boyes, & Ball, 1990). Perhaps, the findings also are consistent with Erickson’s (1968) argument that the period of active exploration is likely to be pronounced in the gifted. A similar pattern of findings may not be revealed in a less select group of comparable age.
Additionally, the adolescents were involved in a new and unfamiliar environment, being away from their families and living on a college campus for a six-week period. This may imply that the exploration process is encouraged by virtue of exposure to new and differing points of view (Grotevant, 1987). The lack of relationship between commitment and the MMPI scales contrasts with the findings that exploration is strongly associated with a pattern of MMPI scales. The commitment score can be seen as a control, of sorts. It provides some assurance that the correlations with exploration are meaningful; the MMPI does not automatically assign meaning to a measure. The absence of a pattern of psychological “disturbance” in those who are “committed” may also reflect a psychological “relaxation,” to the extent that commitment implies an internal organization or structure, whereby the individual feels a sense of purpose, meaning, and direction (Waterman, 1984). Erickson’s work have suggested that when the ego identity is intact “structured,” the personality is more unified; the elements of the self are cohesive, and the personality is more integrated with the social world; that is, the self-concept is embedded within and validated by the successful enactment of social roles. The findings may prove to be useful in broadening the concept of ego identity formation beyond the narrower stage-specific conceptualization that any crucial developmental transition throughout the life span, the individual may experience heightened symptoms of varying nature and degree during which the “self” is being reconstructed. It is a promising lead toward additional research.
REFLEXIVE ANALYSIS
Erickson suggested that teachers should find ways of sanctioning the capabilities of students by paying close attention to their activities and identifying and communicating with them about some valued area in which they demonstrate competence. Erickson also suggested in creating an environment where students can explore dimensions of their identities. The identity “safe zone” involves having tolerance for adolescents’ displays as well as having a commitment to effective instruction that fosters real engagement with content to consider the psychological dimension at a time when accountability seems to be foremost on the minds of educators. Erickson’s advice concerning teachers’ generational role in adolescents’ psychosocial development is meant to minimize concerns about student achievement and allows teachers to take on their generational role and make a positive and lasting contribution to adolescents’ identity development. The form of Identity is self-identical owing to its partaking of the form of Identity, not because of its own nature because its own nature is just self-identical as what is true for a form and its partaking of the nature that its own name names is also true for every other form of which it partakes.
APPENDICES
Personal Identity
The most frequently mentioned personality characteristics were friendliness, maturity, being considerate, confidence and self-control. Feeling mature and being perceived as mature by others were important to most of the students to be in the process of gaining maturity and have more responsibilities in the future, which was a source of some anxiety. Gender identity was strong for both males and females and indicated that they can have friends of either gender, they were more comfortable with friends of the same gender, with whom they shared similar interests.
Social Identity
Group membership was an important means of self-validation included classmates, neighborhood friends and teammates. Peer acceptance was important to self-definition. Griffith (1993) has noted that the self is “constructed through a continuing process of reaction to acceptance or rejection belonging and deciding to belong” (p. 154). The significance of belonging to a group is illustrated by Mehmet’s experience with his soccer teammates, with whom he spent a great deal of time before and after matches.
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