How Do Teenagers’ Identities Form?

Adolescence is the period from the onset of puberty (13 – 14 years old) to the age of 18 years. We usually see it as a difficult phase. But many people make it through adolescence without any problems. Surely it is important to remember that the identity of teenagers is formed during this period. They go through many changes during this life stage.

The purpose of these identity changes is for teens to become independent. It is the preparation for entering adult life, with all its rights and obligations. How do teen identities form? James Marcia has developed a theory about the identity of adolescents. He will highlight this process.

The Theory of Teenage Identity During Adolescence

James Marcia describes four states of identity. These four states show the state of the individual taking into account their identity. They arise from two circumstances:

• Having experienced an identity crisis, or not having experienced an identity crisis.
• Whether or not they have made professional, ideological or personal connections.

What is an identity crisis? The world provides teens with an extensive variety of opportunities. That gives them the opportunity to build their identity. They begin to discover their world when they become aware of these possibilities. Then they investigate what they like and what they don’t. They experiment with romantic relationships, explore gender, friendships, and so on. This search can give rise to what we call an identity crisis.

What does it mean to make commitments in terms of your identity? Well, first teens explore their options. Then they will make choices. Some of these capabilities they will adopt as their own (ideas, commitment, values, and so on).

This acceptance implies a commitment to certain ideological, personal and professional concepts. And these concepts will shape their identity and self-image. That will then have a strong influence on them when they are adults.

We will now go through the four states that occur when these two dimensions come together. These are the four states: identity spread, moratorium, identity acquisition, and early shutdown.

Identity Spread

This is when teens haven’t made any commitments and aren’t exploring their options. At this stage, they are not concerned about their identity. But this phase will end at some point. This is because they feel obliged to develop a personal identity. This can be the result of an identity crisis or of social pressure.

Moratorium

In normal development, this stage in teenage identity formation occurs after the identity spread. Teens are in the moratorium phase when they’ve had an identity crisis but still haven’t made any commitments.

They are looking for different options at this stage. They then investigate and try them out. Adolescents do this without choosing any specific option with conviction. This can actually be a dangerous phase. If an adolescent has damaged self-esteem, he may resort to addictive substances (alcohol, smoking, marijuana, etc.).

Identity acquisition

Adolescents at this stage have overcome the moratorium phase. They have also entered into certain ideological, professional or personal commitments. After an identity crisis and after examining their options, they choose the path they want to take. It is that road on which they will develop as a person.

This allows teens to form their identity and have an idea of ​​who they are. After this phase they feel sure of themselves. They also often show positive changes in their behavior and on a personal level.

Close early

So what happens if an adolescent has never experienced an identity crisis? Sometimes teens don’t want to explore their options. They do not want to experience the moratorium phase. When that happens, the identity of teens will form through the advice or guidance of an adult.

People in this phase are often better adapted than the people in the moratorium phase or in the identity diffusion stage. Yet it is still a very unstable state. It is also much less robust than identity acquisition.

What can we conclude from this?

Personal identity is not a unit. Nor is it an irrevocable process. This is important to remember when we think about the way teenagers form their identities. It is a time to make decisions. But it is above all a phase for experimentation.

What do we mean when we say that identity is not unity? It means that this process can follow different paces in different aspects of our identity. A person may have strong commitments that define their professional identity. But his political identity may still be in the moratorium phase.

It is also important that we understand that it is not irrevocable. Because it is a dynamic process of give and take. Once an adolescent reaches the stage of identity acquisition or premature closure, they may have another identity crisis.

This will then form a new identity that is different from the previous one. For example, someone can start studying medicine. But after re-evaluating his situation, he decides to switch to law school.

General decisions

So we’ve looked at James Marcia’s studies and theory. Now we can draw some general conclusions. One conclusion is that it is important for adolescents to explore the world around them. Another conclusion is that the way they approach the assignment to investigate is unique.

We adults need to give adolescents the space to explore ideas and discover what is right and wrong. That way they will explore. Because they are curious. So this has nothing to do with being rebellious. We must realize that this is the only way teenagers’ identities are formed.

If adults force adolescents to make arbitrary commitments, they will end up in the early termination phase. This means that they will have an unstable identity. And this can stop them from ever achieving identity acquisition.