Identity in Adolescence: The Balance Between Self and Other (Adolescence and Society)

288 Pages·2005·1.44 MB·English

by  Jane Kroger

Identity in Adolescence
The author writes in a manner that is both scholarly and engaging. She
is truly an expert in the topic of adolescent identity, and her depth of
knowledge shines through. I love this book!
(Susan Moore, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia)
Fully updated to include the most recent research and theoretical
developments in the field, the third edition of Identity in Adolescence
examines the interaction of individual and social context in the process
of identity formation. Setting the developmental tradition in context,
Jane Kroger begins by providing a brief overview of theoretical
approaches to adolescent identity formation currently in use. This
introduction is followed by a discussion of five developmental models
which reflect a range of attempts, from the oldest to among the most
recent, to describe this process; works of Erik Erikson, Peter Blos,
Lawrence Kohlberg, Jane Loevinger and Robert Kegan are included in
this volume. Although focusing on each theorist in turn, this volume
also compares and integrates the varied theoretical models and research
findings and sets out some of the practical implications for social
response to adolescents. Different social and cultural conditions and
their effects on the identity formation process are also covered, as are
contemporary contextual, narrative and post-modern approaches to
understanding and researching identity issues.
Jane Kroger is Professor of Psychology, University of Tromsø, Norway.
Her previous publications include Discussions on Ego Identity and
Identity Development: Adolescence through Adulthood.
Adolescence and Society
Series editor: John C. Coleman
The Trust for the Study of Adolescence
The general aim of the series is to make accessible to a wide readership the
growing evidence relating to adolescent development. Much of this material is
published in relatively inaccessible professional journals, and the goals of the
books in this series will be to summarise, review and place in context current
work in the field so as to interest and engage both an undergraduate and a
professional audience.
The intention of the authors is to raise the profile of adolescent studies
among professionals and in institutions of higher education. By publishing
relatively short, readable books on interesting topics to do with youth and
society, the series will make people more aware of the relevance of the subject
of adolescence to a wide range of social concerns.
The books will not put forward any one theoretical viewpoint. The authors
will outline the most prominent theories in the field and will include a balanced
and critical assessment of each of these. Whilst some of the books may have a
clinical or applied slant, the majority will concentrate on normal development.
The readership will rest primarily in two major areas: the undergraduate
market, particularly in the fields of psychology, sociology and education; and
the professional training market, with particular emphasis on social work,
clinical and educational psychology, counselling, youth work, nursing and
teacher training.
Also available in this series:
Adolescent Health Adolescent Gambling
Patrick C.L. Heaven Mark Griffiths
The Nature of Adolescence Youth, AIDS and Sexually
(second edition) Transmitted Diseases
John C. Coleman and Leo Hendry Susan Moore, Doreen Rosenthal and
Anne Mitchell
The Adolescent in the Family
Patricia Noller and Victor Callan Fathers and Adolescents
Shmuel Shulman and
Young People’s Understanding of
Inge Seiffge-Krenke
Society
Adrian Furnham and Barrie Stacey Adolescent Coping
Erica Frydenberg
Growing up with Unemployment
Anthony H. Winefield, Marika Young People’s Involvement in Sport
Tiggermann, Helen R. Winefield and Edited by John Kremer, Karen Trew
Robert D. Goldney and Shaun Ogle
Young People’s Leisure and Lifestyles The Nature of Adolescence
Leo B. Hendry, Janet Shucksmith, John C. Coleman and Leo B. Hendry
John G. Love and Anthony Glendinning
Social Networks and Social Influences
Sexuality in Adolescence in Adolescence
Susan Moore and Doreen Rosenthal John Cotterell
Identity in Adolescence
The Balance between Self
and Other
Third Edition
Jane Kroger
Hove and New York
First published 2004 by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
Copyright © 2004 Psychology Press
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kroger, Jane, 1947–
Identity in adolescence : the balance between self and other / Jane
Kroger.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-415-28106-7 (hardcover)—ISBN 0-415-28107-5 (pbk.)
1. Identity (Psychology) in adolescence. I. Title.
BF724.3.I3K76 2004
155.5′182—dc22 2004008029
ISBN 0-203-34686-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-415-28107-5 (PBK)
ISBN 0-415-28106-7 (HBK)
This book is again dedicated to those who search and to those
who assist along the way.

True ‘engagement’ with others is the result and the test of firm
self-delineation.
(Erik Erikson 1968: 167)

Contents
Preface to the third edition xiii
1 Adolescence and the problem of identity:
Historical, socio-cultural and developmental views 1
Historical approaches to adolescent identity 2
Socio-cultural approaches to adolescent identity 3
Developmental approaches to adolescent identity 7
The developmental approach detailed 8
Identity as the balance between self and other 10
Further reading 14
2 Adolescence as identity synthesis: Erikson’s
psychosocial approach 15
Erikson the person 16
The nature of ego identity 18
Identity: development and resolutions 19
An optimal sense of identity 23
Identity as a stage in the life-cycle scheme 23
Criticism of Erikson’s identity concept 34
Measuring ego identity 35
Historical backdrop to Erikson’s and Marcia’s
psychosocial schemes 38
Research findings on adolescent identity formation 39
Criticism of Marcia’s identity status construct 46
Implications for social response 47
Summary 51
Further reading 52