by Lidya Sin

Created on: September 05, 2009   Last Updated: September 08, 2009

According to the famous psychologist Erikson, adolescence is the time for someone to find their identity. The most important question they must answer in this time is "Who am I?" Success in this process will result in 'identity achievement' and teens will learn the value of fidelity, whereas failure will result in 'identity confusion' and they will have trouble defining themselves and commit to something. Before they are able to achieve success in this process, they must answer questions linked to their identity: their role in society, future career, sexual identity, and ideology. The process of resolving these issues is called crisis.

Their search for identity is closely linked to puberty, when puberty hits and their body start to change. Identity is linked closely to body image and when the body changes, so does a person's body image and subsequently, their identity. That is one of the reason why teens are so fixated on their body. It changes so rapidly, sometimes out of their control. They feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, afraid, but also excited.

They are gradually become independent from their parents. They must develop their own selves, who they want to become. In the past, most people continue their family tradition and occupation. Not so now, with all the world of possibility wide open for them, it is extremely hard to choose the best lifestyle, the best career, the best life there is for them. And who else they can share their problems with if not their friends? Thus, friends is the most important thing in a teens life, a lot of times even more than their parents.

Adolescence is the transition between childhood and adulthood. There are certain expectations they must fulfill in schools and in society. More subjects, bigger class, less attentive teachers, and meeting new friends. People expect them to behave more "grown up", although they sometimes don't feel like growing up. They are expected to decide what to do after they finish high school, where to go to for college or work.

Add to that is the development of their cognitive process, where they develop abstract reasoning and ability to solve problems. Elkin mentioned that teens become more critical, although their mind are not fully developed yet, sometimes making them look selfish and superficial. Teens become very critical of authority figure's fault and flaws while blind to their own.

Marcia is a psychologist well known for his research about identity processing in teens. According to Marcia,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>