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Introduction: Identity development in context
Journal of Adolescence 1996, 19, 401–403
Introduction
Identity development in context JEAN S. PHINNEY AND LUC GOOSSENS Through the writings of Erik Erikson (1968) and James Marcia (1966, 1980) identity has become a popular theme in adolescent psychology. Issues related to the assessment and development of identity (Adams et al., 1992; Kroger, 1993; Marcia et al., 1993; Bosma et al., 1994; LaVoie, 1994) and intervention efforts in this area (Archer, 1989, 1994) continue to attract considerable attention from scholars of adolescence. These last few years, researchers have also begun to emphasize the role of contextual factors in adolescent development in general (Silbereisen and Todt, 1994; Crockett and Crouter, 1995). In fact, contextual influences on adolescent development have become a popular theme at recent conferences, as exemplified by the symposium on “Considering Context in Studying Adolescent Development” at SRCD’s 1995 meeting in Indianapolis and the symposium on “Adolescence in Cross-Cultural and Cross-National Perspectives” (co-sponsored by ISSBD) at the Fourth European Congress of Psychology in Athens in the summer of 1995. However, this recent interest in contextual factors seems to have gone unnoticed by traditional scholars of adolescent identity. Surprisingly, little attention has been devoted to contextual influences on identity formation in adolescence. It was therefore decided to integrate the two lines of research in this special issue on Identity Development in Context. The special issue falls into two parts. First, three theoretical papers are presented, each of which approaches the general linkage between context and identity from a different perspective. Baumeister and Muraven offer an historical analysis of the mutual interdependence between self and society and the intricate ways in which it has changed historically. Throughout this analysis, the authors assign a crucial role to the core concept of “adaptation”. Coˆ te´, from his sociological background, introduces a coherent theoretical framework on the culture–identity link and, in so doing, coins the term “identity capital”. Finally, Adams and Marshall sketch a developmental social psychology of identity, in propositional format, from the perspective of developmental contextualism. Each in their own way, the authors of these papers try to come to terms with the interplay between the social context and the developing sense of identity in the individual. The second part of this special issue includes four empirical studies in which the reader can see this interplay at work. A variety of methods for data collection are used in these papers, which take us across geographical borders and across the customary boundaries that separate adolescence from adulthood. Nurmi et al. demonstrate how rural vs. urban environments provide different opportunity structures to the developing adolescent in two different countries, Finland and Australia. Kvernmo and Heyerdahl report on a questionnaire study of aboriginal Sami adolescents in the Northern part of Norway. They illustrate how ethnic self-identification among these adolescents varies as a function of two contextual factors, ethnic parentage and ethnic 0140-1971/96/050401+03/$18.00/0
1996 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents
402
J. Phinney and L. Goossens
community. Shorter-Gooden and Washington present a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with a small sample of African–American women in college. Through excerpts from these interviews, they show how these women deal (or struggle) with contextual influences on identity in general and with ethnic prejudice and society’s devaluation of women in particular. Kroger and Green in their retrospective study with New Zealand adults examine the contextual and internal factors that lead to identity transitions. This study is an unusual one for this journal, in that middle-aged adults look back on an important segment of their life, only a small section of which (the age period 15 to 24) forms part of adolescence properly speaking. However, the results for this age period closely resemble the findings for the other periods under consideration and underscore the important role of internal change in identity development. In addition to this rich diversity in cultural background and data collection methods, the studies have used very different operationalizations of the concept of identity. Some authors use commonly accepted measures of identity. Kroger and Green assign identity statuses as defined by Marcia (1966) to their adult subjects, whereas Nurmi et al. concentrate on key aspects of identity formation, i.e. exploration and commitment, within the context of a process approach to identity development (Grotevant, 1987). Others use alternative measures. Shorter-Gooden and Washington deliberately go beyond Marcia’s statuses in their interviews. Kvernmo and Heyerdahl use questionnaires to focus on ethnic identity, specifically ethnic identification and ethnic attitudes. In sum, it is a pleasure to present to you this multi-method, interdisciplinary and international collection of papers from the United States, Canada, Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. The implications and possible applications that derive from these papers are outlined in the integrative commentary at the end of this special issue.
References Adams, G. R., Gullotta, T. P. and Montemayor, R. (Eds) (1992). Adolescent Identity Formation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Archer, S. L. (Ed.) (1989). Adolescent identity: an appraisal of health and intervention [Special issue]. Journal of Adolescence, 12(4). Archer, S. L. (Ed.) (1994). Interventions for Adolescent Identity Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Bosma, H. A., Graafsma, T. L. G., Grotevant, H. D. and de Levita, D. J. (Eds) (1994). Identity and Development: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Crockett, L. J. and Crouter, A. C. (Eds) (1995). Pathways Through Adolescence: Individual Development in Relation to Social Context. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity, Youth, and Crisis. New York: Norton. Grotevant, H. D. (1987). Toward a process model of identity formation. Journal of Adolescent Research, 2, 203–222. Kroger, J. (Ed.) (1993). Discussions on Ego Identity. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. LaVoie, J. C. (1994). Identity in adolescence: issues of theory, structure and transition. Journal of Adolescence, 17, 17–28. Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3, 551–558.
Identity development in context
403
Marcia, J. E. (1980). Identity in adolescence. In Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, Adelson, J. (Ed.), pp. 159–187. New York: Wiley. Marcia, J. E., Waterman, A. S., Matteson, D. R., Archer, S. L. and Orlofsky, J. L. (1993). Ego Identity: A Handbook for Psychosocial Research. New York: Springer. Silbereisen, R. K. and Todt, E. (Eds) (1994). Adolescence in Context: The Interplay of Family, School, Peers, and Work in Adjustment. New York: Springer.
Introduction
Identity development in context JEAN S. PHINNEY AND LUC GOOSSENS Through the writings of Erik Erikson (1968) and James Marcia (1966, 1980) identity has become a popular theme in adolescent psychology. Issues related to the assessment and development of identity (Adams et al., 1992; Kroger, 1993; Marcia et al., 1993; Bosma et al., 1994; LaVoie, 1994) and intervention efforts in this area (Archer, 1989, 1994) continue to attract considerable attention from scholars of adolescence. These last few years, researchers have also begun to emphasize the role of contextual factors in adolescent development in general (Silbereisen and Todt, 1994; Crockett and Crouter, 1995). In fact, contextual influences on adolescent development have become a popular theme at recent conferences, as exemplified by the symposium on “Considering Context in Studying Adolescent Development” at SRCD’s 1995 meeting in Indianapolis and the symposium on “Adolescence in Cross-Cultural and Cross-National Perspectives” (co-sponsored by ISSBD) at the Fourth European Congress of Psychology in Athens in the summer of 1995. However, this recent interest in contextual factors seems to have gone unnoticed by traditional scholars of adolescent identity. Surprisingly, little attention has been devoted to contextual influences on identity formation in adolescence. It was therefore decided to integrate the two lines of research in this special issue on Identity Development in Context. The special issue falls into two parts. First, three theoretical papers are presented, each of which approaches the general linkage between context and identity from a different perspective. Baumeister and Muraven offer an historical analysis of the mutual interdependence between self and society and the intricate ways in which it has changed historically. Throughout this analysis, the authors assign a crucial role to the core concept of “adaptation”. Coˆ te´, from his sociological background, introduces a coherent theoretical framework on the culture–identity link and, in so doing, coins the term “identity capital”. Finally, Adams and Marshall sketch a developmental social psychology of identity, in propositional format, from the perspective of developmental contextualism. Each in their own way, the authors of these papers try to come to terms with the interplay between the social context and the developing sense of identity in the individual. The second part of this special issue includes four empirical studies in which the reader can see this interplay at work. A variety of methods for data collection are used in these papers, which take us across geographical borders and across the customary boundaries that separate adolescence from adulthood. Nurmi et al. demonstrate how rural vs. urban environments provide different opportunity structures to the developing adolescent in two different countries, Finland and Australia. Kvernmo and Heyerdahl report on a questionnaire study of aboriginal Sami adolescents in the Northern part of Norway. They illustrate how ethnic self-identification among these adolescents varies as a function of two contextual factors, ethnic parentage and ethnic 0140-1971/96/050401+03/$18.00/0
1996 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents
402
J. Phinney and L. Goossens
community. Shorter-Gooden and Washington present a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with a small sample of African–American women in college. Through excerpts from these interviews, they show how these women deal (or struggle) with contextual influences on identity in general and with ethnic prejudice and society’s devaluation of women in particular. Kroger and Green in their retrospective study with New Zealand adults examine the contextual and internal factors that lead to identity transitions. This study is an unusual one for this journal, in that middle-aged adults look back on an important segment of their life, only a small section of which (the age period 15 to 24) forms part of adolescence properly speaking. However, the results for this age period closely resemble the findings for the other periods under consideration and underscore the important role of internal change in identity development. In addition to this rich diversity in cultural background and data collection methods, the studies have used very different operationalizations of the concept of identity. Some authors use commonly accepted measures of identity. Kroger and Green assign identity statuses as defined by Marcia (1966) to their adult subjects, whereas Nurmi et al. concentrate on key aspects of identity formation, i.e. exploration and commitment, within the context of a process approach to identity development (Grotevant, 1987). Others use alternative measures. Shorter-Gooden and Washington deliberately go beyond Marcia’s statuses in their interviews. Kvernmo and Heyerdahl use questionnaires to focus on ethnic identity, specifically ethnic identification and ethnic attitudes. In sum, it is a pleasure to present to you this multi-method, interdisciplinary and international collection of papers from the United States, Canada, Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. The implications and possible applications that derive from these papers are outlined in the integrative commentary at the end of this special issue.
References Adams, G. R., Gullotta, T. P. and Montemayor, R. (Eds) (1992). Adolescent Identity Formation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Archer, S. L. (Ed.) (1989). Adolescent identity: an appraisal of health and intervention [Special issue]. Journal of Adolescence, 12(4). Archer, S. L. (Ed.) (1994). Interventions for Adolescent Identity Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Bosma, H. A., Graafsma, T. L. G., Grotevant, H. D. and de Levita, D. J. (Eds) (1994). Identity and Development: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Crockett, L. J. and Crouter, A. C. (Eds) (1995). Pathways Through Adolescence: Individual Development in Relation to Social Context. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity, Youth, and Crisis. New York: Norton. Grotevant, H. D. (1987). Toward a process model of identity formation. Journal of Adolescent Research, 2, 203–222. Kroger, J. (Ed.) (1993). Discussions on Ego Identity. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. LaVoie, J. C. (1994). Identity in adolescence: issues of theory, structure and transition. Journal of Adolescence, 17, 17–28. Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3, 551–558.
Identity development in context
403
Marcia, J. E. (1980). Identity in adolescence. In Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, Adelson, J. (Ed.), pp. 159–187. New York: Wiley. Marcia, J. E., Waterman, A. S., Matteson, D. R., Archer, S. L. and Orlofsky, J. L. (1993). Ego Identity: A Handbook for Psychosocial Research. New York: Springer. Silbereisen, R. K. and Todt, E. (Eds) (1994). Adolescence in Context: The Interplay of Family, School, Peers, and Work in Adjustment. New York: Springer.