UNIT 3 IDENTITY SELF CONCEPT, SELF

ESTEEM, PEER GROUP

RELATIONSHIP
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Identity in Adolescence
3.3 Identity Crisis
3.3.1 Marcia’s Identity Statuses

3.4 Social Development

3.5 Self Concept and Self Esteem in Adolescence
3.5.1 Signs of Negatives Self Concepts in Adolescents
3.5.2 Egocentrism in Adolescence

3.6 Let Us Sum Up

3.7 Unit End Questions
3.8 Suggested Readings

3.0 INTRODUCTION
Adolescence is known to be a period of exploratory self-analysis and self-evaluation
ideally culminating in the establishment of a cohesive and integrative sense of self or
identity. The search for identity, during the adolescent period, is very much affected
by the social world: peers, parents, schools, and neighborhoods.
Identity formation involves the successful negotiation of a variety of activities and
relationships during adolescence, including school achievement, social relations with
others, and development of career interests and choices, along with a great deal of
exploration of different activities and roles. One’s gender, ethnicity, and sexual
orientation all are important to adolescents’ developing identity. Integrating these
experiences and characteristics into a coherent sense of self is fundamental to identity
formation, and researchers have proposed different phases of the identity development
process. Adolescents’ focus on identity as their understanding of that childhood is
ending and the adult phase of their life is about to begin.
Identity development involves two steps. First, the adolescent must break away from
childhood beliefs to explore alternatives for identity in a particular area. Second, the
adolescent makes a commitment as to their individual identity in that area. Some
aspects of identity, especially among young adolescents, may be foreclosed. The
foreclosure status is when a commitment is made without exploring alternatives.
Identity achievement during adolescence serves as a basis for our adult expectations
and goals for us. As individuals enter early adulthood they use their current
understanding of whom they are to develop a lifespan construct which serves as the
link between the identity developed in adolescence and the adult self. The lifespan
construct is an integration of an individual’s past, present, and culture.
31
Development During An identity crisis is a term in an epigenetic and social psychological theory in which
Adolescence
an individual loses a sense of personal sameness and historical continuity. The term
was coined by the psychologist Erik Erikson. According to Erikson, an identity crisis
is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself.
According to Erikson, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration
of different ways of looking at oneself. Erikson’s interest in identity began in childhood.
Erikson described identity as “a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of
personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the sameness and
continuity of some shared world image.
In Marcia’s model, identity involves the adoption of 1) a sexual orientation, 2) a set
of values and ideals and 3) a vocational direction. A well-developed identity gives
on a sense of one’s strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness.
The self-concept is the accumulation of knowledge about the self, such as beliefs
regarding personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and roles.
In adolescence, the self-concept becomes more abstract, complex, and hierarchically
organised into cognitive mental representations or self-schemas, which direct the
processing of self-relevant information.
Self-concept or self-identity is the sum total of a being’s knowledge and understanding
of his or her self. The self-concept is different from self consciousness, which is an
awareness of one’s self. Components of the self-concept include physical,
psychological, and social attributes, which can be influenced by the individual’s attitudes,
habits, beliefs and ideas. These components and attributes can not be condensed to
the general concepts of self-image and the self-esteem.
Self-concept refers to self-evaluation or self perception, and it represents the sum of
an individual’s beliefs about his or her own attributes. Self concept reflects how an
adolescent evaluates himself or herself in domains (or areas) in which he or she
considers success important. An adolescent can have a positive self-concept in some
domains and a negative self-concept in others.
Adolescent egocentrism is also characterised by an imaginary audience with an
increased self consciousness. They consider that their people around them especially
peers observe their activities and may comment on them. They are extremely conscious
of what others think of them, their appearance and everything related to themselves.
This way they perceive themselves as seen by them contributing to the development
of self confidence.

3.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
z define and describe identity and identity crisis in adolescents;
z explain Marcia’s identity crisis;
z analyse social development and egocentrism in adolescents; and
z explain self-concept and self-esteem during adolescence.

3.2 IDENTITY IN ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence is known to be a period of exploratory self-analysis and self-evaluation
32 ideally culminating in the establishment of a cohesive and integrative sense of self or
identity. This process involves the exploration and testing of alternative ideas, beliefs, Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
and behaviours, marking this period as one of both dramatic change and uncertainty. Relationship
Erikson provided perhaps the most widely recognised theoretical framework for
conceptualising the transformation of the self during adolescence. This framework
provides for the development of a sense of one’s individuality (self-sameness) and
continuity with significant others.
Identity is a new way of thinking about oneself that emerges during adolescence.
Identity involves a sense of self-unity, accompanied by a feeling that the self has
continuity over time. A firmly established identity also provides a sense of uniqueness
as a person. According to Erikson’s psychosocial model of development, identity
must be perceived by the individual, but also recognised and confirmed by others.
Thus, the process of establishing an identity involves “Integrating into a coherent
whole one’s past experiences, ongoing personal changes, and society’s demands and
expectations for one’s future”
The process of developing an identity begins with the infant’s discovery of self,
continues throughout childhood, and becomes the focus of adolescence. Erik Erikson,
identified the goal of adolescence as achieving a coherent identity and avoiding
identity confusion. Identity is multidimensional and may include physical and sexual
identity, occupational goals, religious beliefs, and ethnic background. Adolescents
explore these dimensions, and usually make commitments to aspects of their identity
as they move into early adulthood.
Identity development begins with children’s awareness that they are separate and
unique individuals. First indications of this awareness are evident in infancy when
children begin to recognise themselves. They recognise the reflected image as
themselves. Also, the words “me,” “I,” and “mine” emerge very early in children’s
language. These findings are consistent with Erikson’s psychosocial stage of autonomy
versus shame and doubt, when infants establish their identity as independent persons.
During childhood, self-awareness grows and changes. Preschoolers describe
themselves in terms of observable characteristics and behaviours, including physical
attributes (“I have brown eyes”), preferences (“I like to ride my bike”), and
competencies (“I can sing ‘Itsy, Bitsy Spider”’). Between ages six and twelve,
children begin to include less concrete aspects of the self in their descriptions. School-
aged children talk about their feelings (“I love my dog”) and how they fit into their
social world (“I’m the best fielder on my team”). During Erikson’s stage of initiative
versus guilt children explore their skills, abilities, and attitudes and incorporate the
information into their view of self.
As children edge closer and closer to adulthood, it seems they reach a point where
they want to be defined by anything BUT their parents. They stop wanting to spend
time with family, and may even detest being seen with their parents. “Please drop me
off a block from school, Mom. I want to walk the rest of the way.” These words
are painful to a mother who has devoted many years of her life to meeting all of her
teenage son’s needs. Suddenly, he’s embarrassed to be seen in the same car with
her.
The process of separation from parents is a natural one. Erik Erikson was the first
major psychological theorist to develop the notion of an adolescent “identity crisis.”
In his view, all of the earlier crystallisations of identity formed during childhood come
into question during adolescence with the overwhelming combination of physical
changes, increased sex drive, expanded mental abilities, and increasing and conflicting
33
social demands. To develop a sense of identity amidst the confusion, Erikson stated
Development During in Identity: Youth and Crisis that adolescents need to try on a variety of roles and
Adolescence
“must often test extremes before settling on a considered course.”
At this stage, adolescents often reject their parents, and all that they stand for so that
they can make a clean break from childhood as they attempt to form an identity of
their own. They are hungry for role models and can be rather indiscriminate about
where they find them. With their sense of identity in flux, teens will often turn to peer
groups for that missing sense of belonging. This explains some of the cult-like tendencies
amongst early adolescents to worship the same heroes (movie stars, singers), wear
the same clothes and “rebel” against traditional authority. The interesting thing about
this so-called rebellion is that it’s often actually another form of conformity — Gina
wants a tattoo or a navel ring because everyone else is getting them. Everyone has
platform shoes so she’ll feel like an outcast if she’s not wearing them.
At this stage of development (usually early teens), role models can make a critical
difference in choices adolescents make, choices that could affect the course of their
lives. At this age, teens have a strong need to idealize others, especially those who
are older and more worldly, qualities they desperately want to possess. They can be
as easily awed by an older (that is, 18- or 19 year-old) guy who drives a fancy car
and pushes drugs, as by a sports hero who espouses clean living, hard work and
dedication.
The physical, cognitive, and social changes of adolescence allow the teenager to
develop the identity that will serve as a basis for their adult lives. During Erikson’s
stage of identity versus role confusion, adolescents’ description of self expands to
include personality traits (“I’m outgoing”) and attitudes (“I don’t like stuck-up
people”). The emergence of abstract reasoning abilities allows adolescents to think
about the future and experiment with different identities.
Identity development involves two steps. First, the adolescent must break away from
childhood beliefs to explore alternatives for identity in a particular area. Second, the
adolescent makes a commitment as to their individual identity in that area. Some
aspects of identity, especially among young adolescents, may be foreclosed. The
foreclosure status is when a commitment is made without exploring alternatives.
Identity achievement during adolescence serves as a basis for our adult expectations
and goals for us. As individuals enter early adulthood they use their current
understanding of whom they are to develop a lifespan construct which serves as the
link between the identity developed in adolescence and the adult self. The lifespan
construct is an integration of an individual’s past, present, and culture.

3.3 IDENTITY CRISIS

Are you unsure of your role in life? Do you feel like you don’t know the ‘real you’?
If you answer yes to the previous questions, you may be experiencing an identity
crisis. Theorist Erik Erikson coined the term identity crisis and believed that it was
one of the most important conflicts people face in development.
An identity crisis is a term in an epigenetic and social psychological theory in which
an individual loses a sense of personal sameness and historical continuity. The term
was coined by the psychologist Erik Erikson.. According to Erikson, an identity crisis
is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself.
According to Erikson, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration
34 of different ways of looking at oneself. Erikson’s interest in identity began in childhood.
Erikson described identity as “a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the sameness and Relationship
continuity of some shared world image. As a quality of unself-conscious living, this
can be gloriously obvious in a young person who has found himself as he has found
his communality. In him we see emerge a unique unification of what is irreversibly
given—that is, body type and temperament, giftedness and vulnerability, infantile
models and acquired ideals—with the open choices provided in available roles,
occupational possibilities, values offered, mentors met, friendships made, and first
sexual encounters.”
In Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, the emergence of an identity
crisis occurs during the teenage years in which people struggle between feelings of
identity versus role confusion. Researcher James Marcia (1966, 1976, 1980) has
expanded upon Erikson’s initial theory.
James Marcia argued that identity could be viewed as a structure of beliefs, abilities
and past experiences regarding the self. “The better developed this structure is, the
more individuals appear to be of their own strengths and weaknesses. The less
developed this structure is, the more confused individuals seem to be about their own
distinctiveness from others and the more they have to rely on external sources to
evaluate themselves.” Identity is a dynamic, not static psychological structure. The
formation of identity in adolescence sets the stage for continual changes in the content
of identity through the adult years.

3.3.1 Marcia’s Identity Statuses

James Marcia refined and extended Erikson’s work on identity. In Marcia’s model,
identity involves the adoption of 1) a sexual orientation, 2) a set of values and ideals
and 3) a vocational direction. A well-developed identity gives on a sense of one’s
strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. A person with a less well-developed
identity is not able to define his or her personal strengths and weaknesses, and does
not have a well articulated sense of self.
Marcia (1966) operationalised the stage progression theory of identity development
proposed by Erikson by identifying four identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure,
moratorium, and achievement. Through the use of a semistructured interview, an
individual could be assigned an identity status on the basis of the evidence of crisis
and commitment in the domains of occupation, religion, and politics. Since its inception,
Marcia’s interview has stimulated a wide range of research in the area of identity
formation.
To better understand the identity formation process, Marcia conducted interviews
with young people. He asked whether the participants in his study (1) had established
a commitment to an occupation and ideology and (2) had experienced, or were
presently experiencing, a decision making period (adolescent identity crisis). Marcia
developed a framework for thinking about identity in terms of four identity statuses.
It is important to note that these are NOT stages. Identity statuses should not be
viewed as sub stages in a sequential or linear process.
i) Foreclosure: These people have made commitments to an occupational future,
but have not experienced an identity crisis. They have conformed to the expectations
of others concerning their future. For example, an individual may have allowed a
parent to decide what career they will pursue. These individuals have not explored
a range of options (experience an “identity crisis”).
35
Development During ii) Diffusion: The young person has not made a commitment, and may or may not
Adolescence
have experienced an identity crisis. He or she appears to have given up any attempt
to make the commitments needed for developing a clear sense of identity as Marcia
defines the term.
iii) Moratorium: Individuals in moratorium are actively exploring alternative
commitments, but have not yet made a decision. They are experiencing an identity
crisis, but appear to be moving forward toward identity formation, making
commitments.
iv) Achievement: The individual has experienced an identity crisis and has made
commitments necessary for building a sense of identity as described above.
The core idea is that one’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and
commitments made regarding certain personal and social traits. The work done in
this paradigm considers how much one has made certain choices, and how much he
or she displays a commitment to those choices. Identity involves the adoption of
1) a sexual orientation, 2) a set of values and ideals and 3) a vocational direction.
A well-developed identity gives on a sense of one’s strengths, weaknesses, and
individual uniqueness. A person with a less well-developed identity is not able to
define his or her personal strengths and weaknesses, and does not have a well
articulated sense of self.
Self Assessment Questions
1) Discuss the following in one or two sentences:
z Identity
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Identity crisis
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Identity statuses
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Role confusion
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................

3.4 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Adolescence is a time when parental influences decrease and peer influences increase.
Adolescence is a time when the individual searches for her own identity. These
happens by the youngsters interactions with her peers and many outsiders including
her teachers, neighborhood adults and others. Same sex hero worship is quite common
during this period. Also they are highly swayed and impressed by the idealism of
36
hero’s and social workers. At this age they enjoy doing work for others, and love
to serve the community. They take up examples of great pioneers and try to mould Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
themselves like them. They may also like to imitate film heroes and try to do things Relationship
like them. All these efforts contribute in a bog way to the youngsters self identity.
Adolescence begins with the physical changes that lead to sexual maturity however
studies in the recent years have shown that puberty is occurring at an earlier age so
also the physical development.
Adolescents experience many moods and are more prone to mood swings (Myers,
2004). The cognitive development that takes place during this time gives adolescents
the ability to reason. These advancing reasoning skills allow adolescents to ponder
several options and possibilities to many social situations and experiences. They are
able to think more logically than when they were younger. They are also able to think
hypothetically, even abstractly.

3.5 SELF CONCEPT AND SELF ESTEEM IN

ADOLESCENCE
The self-concept is the accumulation of knowledge about the self, such as beliefs
regarding personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and roles.
In adolescence, the self-concept becomes more abstract, complex, and hierarchically
organised into cognitive mental representations or self-schemas, which direct the
processing of self-relevant information.
Self-concept-the way in which one perceives oneself-can be divided into categories,
such as personal self-concept (facts or one’s own opinions about oneself, such as
“I have brown eyes” or “I am attractive”); social self-concept (one’s perceptions
about how one is regarded by others: “people think I have a great sense of humor”);
and self-ideals (what or how one would like to be: “I want to be a lawyer” or “I
wish I were thinner”).
Self-concept or self-identity is the sum total of a being’s knowledge and understanding
of his or her self. The self-concept is different from self consciousness, which is an
awareness of one’s self. Components of the self-concept include physical,
psychological, and social attributes, which can be influenced by the individual’s attitudes,
habits, beliefs and ideas. These components and attributes can not be condensed to
the general concepts of self-image and the self-esteem.
Self-concept refers to self-evaluation or self perception, and it represents the sum of
an individual’s beliefs about his or her own attributes. Self concept reflects how an
adolescent evaluates himself or herself in domains (or areas) in which he or she
considers success important. An adolescent can have a positive self-concept in some
domains and a negative self-concept in others.
Teachers, administrators, and parents commonly voice concerns about students’ self-
esteem. Its significance is often exaggerated to the extent that low self esteem is
viewed as the cause of all evil and high self-esteem as the cause of all good.
Promoting high self-concept is important because it relates to academic and life
success. Although the terms self-concept and self-esteem are often used
interchangeably, they represent different but related constructs. Self-concept refers
to a student’s perceptions of competence or adequacy in academic and nonacademic
(example, social, behavioural, and athletic) domains and is best represented by a
profile of self-perceptions across domains. Self-esteem is a student’s overall evaluation
of him- or herself, including feelings of general happiness and satisfaction.
37
Development During Self-concept and academic achievement: Self-concept is frequently positively
Adolescence
correlated with academic performance, but it appears to be a consequence rather
than a cause of high achievement. This is a common assumption that an individuals
high academic performance results in their self concept. Whereas, the high academic
performance is the result of individual’s self concept.
Self-concept and aggression: Another popular assumption is that aggressive students
have low self-concept and use aggression as a means of raising it.
Self-concept, depression, and use of illegal substances: Low self-concept is often
considered a defining characteristic of depression, but the evidence for this is weak.
Similarly, although some evidence suggests that low self-concept may be a weak risk
factor for smoking in girls, the relationship between self-concept and the use of
alcohol and illegal drugs has little support.
An adolescent’s self-concept is dynamic, and causality is complex. That is, problems
and difficulties can lower self-concept; but low self-concept can also cause problems.
For adolescents, having a high academic self-concept is associated with positive
academic performance and having a high physical self-concept is related to increased
physical activity, for example.

3.5.1 Signs of Negative Self Concept in Adolescents

Several signs may indicate that an adolescent has a negative self-concept. These may
include one or more of the following:
z Doing poorly in school;
z Having few friends;
z Putting down one self and others;
z Rejecting compliments;
z Teasing others;
z Showing excessive amounts of anger;
z Being excessively jealous;
z Appearing conceited; or
z Hesitating to try new things.
Strategies that can be used to improve an adolescent’s self-concept include providing
praise for accomplishments, praising effort, working with the individual to encourage
improvement in areas where he or she feels deficient, and refraining from using
negative feedback.
Self esteem is the one important factor required by anybody to succeed in life. It is
a well proven concept that if you can build self esteem at your adolescent period it
will last all through your life. Adolescence is one period in which boys and girls faces
with many problems and issues. It is necessary that adolescent self esteem to be at
top to face the problems faced with adolescent period. Many teenagers will have low
self esteem and it is imperative to know major reasons for low self esteem and find
out ways and means to combat the low self esteem. It is highly advisable to make
dedicated efforts to bring up the self esteem.
38
There are many causes for the lack of self esteem. Let us review some of them. Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
z Hereditary is a main factor for low self esteem. If the parents are introverts and Relationship

they never mingle with people for fear of their inability, the chances that children
have low esteem are more.
z The living conditions: The surrounding in which you live also affects the lack
of self esteem. If the child is brought up in a poor environment without giving
proper attention to make him excel in his fields or deprived of doing good
activities, the low self esteem at the adolescent stage is possible.
z Lack of proper education: is another factor affecting the self esteem. Uneducated
children will develop lack of self esteem as they will face problems in interacting
with the educated of their age.
z Physiological: Adolescence is a period when major physical changes occur in
boys and girls. The gender hormones start the functioning in full swing during this
period. Many children face problems during this change unable to cope with the
changes occurring in their body and behaviour.
z Societal implications: During the adolescent stage of a child, society put many
restrictions in their behaviours and attitudes. Girls will be automatically tempted
to move away form the boys and boys are restricted to mingle with girls during
the period. This makes them feel that there are some things to be afraid. This
will automatically make them fear in a natural interaction.
z Fear about future: During the late periods of adolescence, the children will
seriously think about their future and in many cases they will get depressed of
their future. Unemployment, dating problems, insecurity, lack of financial
backgrounds and many such factors make the adolescents afraid of facing the
world.
z Diseases and other physical ailments: These children will be thinking that they
are debris in the world. These thinking processes make them to keep away
from others and they can become agitated.
There are many such reasons for low self esteem of adolescents. If proper care is
not given, the low self esteem gradually will lead to many physical and mental
ailments. It is important to bring up the adolescents with high self esteem.

3.5.2 Egocentrism in Adolescence

An important aspect of the psychological development contributing to the adolescent
period is adolescent egocentrism. According to Elkind (1967), adolescent egocentrism
includes a belief system carried by adolescents that makes them consider themselves
as special and unique. This feeling is accompanied by the acquisition of many new
psychological abilities.
Adolescent egocentrism is also characterised by an imaginary audience with an
increased self consciousness. They consider that their people around them especially
peers observe their activities and may comment on them. They are extremely conscious
of what others think of them, their appearance and everything related to them selves.
This way they perceive themselves as seen by them contributing to the development
of self confidence.

39
Development During
Adolescence Self Assessment Questions
1) Discuss the following in one or two sentences:
z Self concept
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Self esteem
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Adolescent egocentrism
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
z Negative self-concept
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................

3.6 LET US SUM UP

Adolescence is known to be a period of exploratory self-analysis and self-evaluation
ideally culminating in the establishment of a cohesive and integrative sense of self or
identity. The search for identity, during the adolescent period, is very much affected
by the social world: peers, parents, schools, and neighborhoods.
This process involves the exploration and testing of alternative ideas, beliefs, and
behaviours, marking this period as one of both dramatic change and uncertainty.
Erikson provided perhaps the most widely recognised theoretical framework for
conceptualising the transformation of the self during adolescence.
As children edge closer and closer to adulthood, it seems they reach a point where
they want to be defined by anything BUT their parents. They stop wanting to spend
time with family, and may even detest being seen with their parents. “Please drop me
off a block from school, Mom. I want to walk the rest of the way.” These words
are painful to a mother who has devoted many years of her life to meeting all of her
teenage son’s needs. Suddenly, he’s embarrassed to be seen in the same car with
her.
The process of separation from parents is a natural one. Erik Erikson was the first
major psychological theorist to develop the notion of an adolescent “identity crisis.”
In his view, all of the earlier crystallisations of identity formed during childhood come
into question during adolescence with the overwhelming combination of physical
changes, increased sex drive, expanded mental abilities, and increasing and conflicting
social demands. To develop a sense of identity amidst the confusion, Erikson stated
in Identity: Youth and Crisis that adolescents need to try on a variety of roles and
“must often test extremes before settling on a considered course.”
According to Erikson, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration
of different ways of looking at oneself. Erikson’s interest in identity began in childhood.
Erikson described identity as “a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of
personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the sameness and
40 continuity of some shared world image. As a quality of unself-conscious living, this
can be gloriously obvious in a young person who has found himself as he has found Identity, Self Concept, Self
Esteem, Peer Group
his communality. In him we see emerge a unique unification of what is irreversibly Relationship
given—that is, body type and temperament, giftedness and vulnerability, infantile
models and acquired ideals—with the open choices provided in available roles,
occupational possibilities, values offered, mentors met, friendships made, and first
sexual encounters.”
Marcia (1966) operationalised the stage progression theory of identity development
proposed by Erikson by identifying four identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure,
moratorium, and achievement. Through the use of a semistructured interview, an
individual could be assigned an identity status on the basis of the evidence of crisis
and commitment in the domains of occupation, religion, and politics. Since its inception,
Marcia’s interview has stimulated a wide range of research in the area of identity
formation.
The self-concept is the accumulation of knowledge about the self, such as beliefs
regarding personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and roles.
In adolescence, the self-concept becomes more abstract, complex, and hierarchically
organised into cognitive mental representations or self-schemas, which direct the
processing of self-relevant information.
Self-concept refers to self-evaluation or self perception, and it represents the sum of
an individual’s beliefs about his or her own attributes. Self concept reflects how an
adolescent evaluates himself or herself in domains (or areas) in which he or she
considers success important. An adolescent can have a positive self-concept in some
domains and a negative self-concept in others.
Self esteem is the one important factor required by anybody to succeed in life. It is
a well proven concept that if you can build self esteem at your adolescent period it
will last all through your life. Adolescence is one period in which boys and girls faces
with many problems and issues. It is necessary that adolescent self esteem to be at
top to face the problems faced with adolescent period. Many teenagers will have low
self esteem and it is imperative to know major reasons for low self esteem and find
out ways and means to combat the low self esteem. It is highly advisable to make
dedicated efforts to bring up the self esteem.

3.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1) Define identity, self concept and self esteem.
2) In what ways the peer group relationship contributes to development of self
esteem, self concept and indentity?
3) What is Marcia’s concept of self?
4) What is social identity?
5) How is identity crisis resolved?

3.8 SUGGESTED READINGS

David Pruitt, M.D (2000). Your Adolescent: Emotional, Behavioural, and
Cognitive Development from Early Adolescence Through the Teen Years, Imprint:
Harper Paperbacks, NY
Burns, R. B. (1979). “The self-concept in theory, measurement, development and
behaviour.” London:
41