- The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development
- About the Editors
- Contributors
- Preface
- The Field of Identity Development Needs an Identity: An Introduction to The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development
- Theoretical Foundations of Identity
- Gendered Narrative Voices: Sociocultural and Feminist Approaches to Emerging Identity in Childhood and Adolescence
- Identity Development from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: What We Know and (Especially) Don’t Know
- Identity Development Through Adulthood: The Move Toward “Wholeness”
- Three Strands of Identity Development Across the Human Life Course: Reading Erik Erikson in Full
- The Identity Statuses: Strengths of a Person-Centered Approach
- Commitment and Exploration: The Need for a Developmental Approach
- Identity Status: On Refinding the People
- Autobiographical Reasoning is Constitutive for Narrative Identity: The Role of the Life Story for Personal Continuity
- Autobiographical Reasoning and My Discontent: Alternative Paths from Narrative to Identity
- Discerning Oneself: A Plea for the Whole
- Identity as Internal Processes: How the “I” Comes to Define the “Me”
- Identities as an Interactional Process
- Integrating “Internal,” “Interactional,” and “External” Perspectives: Identity Process as the Formulation of Accountable Claims Regarding Selves
- Culture as Race/Ethnicity
- “[T]hey Say Black Men Won’t Make It, But I Know I’m Gonna Make It”: Ethnic and Racial Identity Development in the Context of Cultural Stereotypes
- Reflections on the Cultural Lenses of Identity Development
- Identities, Cultures, and Schooling: How Students Navigate Racial-Ethnic, Indigenous, Immigrant, Social Class, and Gender Identities on Their Pathways Through School
- Transformation, Erosion, or Disparity in Work Identity?: Challenges During the Contemporary Transition to Adulthood
- Identity and Positive Youth Development: Advances in Developmental Intervention Science
- A Translational Research Approach to Narrative Identity in Psychotherapy
- Youths’ Constructions of Meanings About Experiences with Political Conflict: Implications for Processes of Identity Development
- Puberty, Identity, and Context: A Biopsychosocial Perspective on Internalizing Psychopathology in Early Adolescent Girls
- Body Image and Identity: A Call for New Research
- Cultural Neuroscience of Identity Development
- Parenting, Adolescent–Parent Relationships, and Social Domain Theory: Implications for Identity Development
- Who Am I If We’re Not Us? Divorce and Identity Across the Lifespan
- Identity Development in the Context of the Risk and Resilience Framework
- The Dynamic Role of Identity Processes in Personality Development: Theories, Patterns, and New Directions
- Identity Development in the Digital Age: The Case of Social Networking Sites
- Identity Formation Research from a Critical Perspective: Is a Social Science Developing?
- What Have We Learned Since Schwartz (2001)?: A Reappraisal of the Field of Identity Development
- The Future of Identity Development Research: Reflections, Tensions, and Challenges
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
A critical analysis is presented of Erikson’s theory of identity development and the field of identity development research. Erikson’s proposal of identity development as a human universal is critiqued by examining the applicability of this idea in human phylogenetic history and across world regions today, with a focus on adolescence and emerging adulthood. The current state of research in identity develop is also critiqued, with the conclusion that, because most research to date has been based on the identity status model, and because this model and the methods used to investigate it are of dubious validity, much remains to be known about the most basic, fundamental questions of identity development. The narrative approach is advocated as a more promising model for future investigations, and the questions to be addressed by this approach are summarized.
Keywords: emerging adulthood, identity status, narrative method, Erikson, culture
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University in Massachusetts.
Access to the complete content on Oxford Handbooks Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription.
Please subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.
For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can''t find the answer there, please contact us.
- The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development
- About the Editors
- Contributors
- Preface
- The Field of Identity Development Needs an Identity: An Introduction to The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development
- Theoretical Foundations of Identity
- Gendered Narrative Voices: Sociocultural and Feminist Approaches to Emerging Identity in Childhood and Adolescence
- Identity Development from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: What We Know and (Especially) Don’t Know
- Identity Development Through Adulthood: The Move Toward “Wholeness”
- Three Strands of Identity Development Across the Human Life Course: Reading Erik Erikson in Full
- The Identity Statuses: Strengths of a Person-Centered Approach
- Commitment and Exploration: The Need for a Developmental Approach
- Identity Status: On Refinding the People
- Autobiographical Reasoning is Constitutive for Narrative Identity: The Role of the Life Story for Personal Continuity
- Autobiographical Reasoning and My Discontent: Alternative Paths from Narrative to Identity
- Discerning Oneself: A Plea for the Whole
- Identity as Internal Processes: How the “I” Comes to Define the “Me”
- Identities as an Interactional Process
- Integrating “Internal,” “Interactional,” and “External” Perspectives: Identity Process as the Formulation of Accountable Claims Regarding Selves
- Culture as Race/Ethnicity
- “[T]hey Say Black Men Won’t Make It, But I Know I’m Gonna Make It”: Ethnic and Racial Identity Development in the Context of Cultural Stereotypes
- Reflections on the Cultural Lenses of Identity Development
- Identities, Cultures, and Schooling: How Students Navigate Racial-Ethnic, Indigenous, Immigrant, Social Class, and Gender Identities on Their Pathways Through School
- Transformation, Erosion, or Disparity in Work Identity?: Challenges During the Contemporary Transition to Adulthood
- Identity and Positive Youth Development: Advances in Developmental Intervention Science
- A Translational Research Approach to Narrative Identity in Psychotherapy
- Youths’ Constructions of Meanings About Experiences with Political Conflict: Implications for Processes of Identity Development
- Puberty, Identity, and Context: A Biopsychosocial Perspective on Internalizing Psychopathology in Early Adolescent Girls
- Body Image and Identity: A Call for New Research
- Cultural Neuroscience of Identity Development
- Parenting, Adolescent–Parent Relationships, and Social Domain Theory: Implications for Identity Development
- Who Am I If We’re Not Us? Divorce and Identity Across the Lifespan
- Identity Development in the Context of the Risk and Resilience Framework
- The Dynamic Role of Identity Processes in Personality Development: Theories, Patterns, and New Directions
- Identity Development in the Digital Age: The Case of Social Networking Sites
- Identity Formation Research from a Critical Perspective: Is a Social Science Developing?
- What Have We Learned Since Schwartz (2001)?: A Reappraisal of the Field of Identity Development
- The Future of Identity Development Research: Reflections, Tensions, and Challenges
- Index