Identity Crisis

Definition

Erik H. Erikson coined the term identity crisis to describe the uncertainty, and even anxiety, that adolescents may feel as they recognize that they are no longer children and become puzzled and confused about their present and future roles in life.

Context and Importance

You may recall a time during the teenage years when you were confused about who you were, what you should be, and what the future might hold in store for you. Forming an adult identity involves grappling with many important questions: What career path best suits me? What religious, moral, or political values can I call my own? Who am I as male or female and as a sexual being? How important are marriage and raising children to me? Just where do I fit in to society? These identity issues, often raised at a time when teenagers are also trying to cope with their rapidly changing body images and more demanding social and academic lives, can add significantly to one's confusion about who he or she is (or can become).

The Process of Forging Identities

Researchers have developed elaborate interviews, questioning adolescents and young adults to determine if interviewees have experienced a crisis (grappled with identity issues) and whether or not interviewees have made commitments (i.e., resolved any issues raised) with respect to forging occupational, interpersonal, political, and religious identities.

Based on the answers provided, the interviewee is classified into one of four identity statuses for each identity domain:

[Page 454]Although Erikson assumed that the painful aspects of identity crises occur early in adolescence and are often resolved between the ages of 15 and 18, his age norms are overly optimistic. Research with 12to 24-year-olds consistently reveals that the vast majority of 12to 18-year-olds are identity diffuse or foreclosed, and not until age 21 and older had the majority of participants reached the moratorium status (crisis) or achieved stable identities in any life domain. There is one intriguing sex difference. Although today's college women are just as concerned as men are about achieving an occupational identity, they attach greater importance than men do to aspects of identity that focus on sexuality, personal relationships, and how to balance career and family goals.

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