Promoting Identity Development in Adolescents

Abstract

A model of identity formation based on the cognitive developmental stages of social-perspective taking is described. The model assumes that identity can be achieved through cognitive strategies of considering the self in relation to one friend, one's family, the peer group, and society. A study with high school students was undertaken to test the model. The program included 43 high school seniors and lasted for two weeks. The experimental students were asked to take the perspective of each social entity above and then to consider how the self was like and unlike these. Repeated measures analyses of variance showed that the experimentals gained significantly more than the controls on Rasmussen's Ego Identity Scale (EIS) following the program.

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