Identity vs. Identity Confusion
Adolescents are faced with deciding who they are, what they are all about, and where they are going in life.
Psychosocial Moratorium
The gap between childhood security and adult autonomy. Society leaves adolescents relatively free of responsibilities and free to try out different identities.
Crisis
Marcia's term for a period of identity development during which the adolescent is exploring alternatives.
Commitment
Marcia's term for the part of identity development in which adolescents show a personal investment in forming an identity.
Identity Diffusion
Marcia's term for adolescents who have not yet experienced a crisis (explored meaningful alternatives) or made any commitments.
Identity Foreclosure
Marcia's term for adolescents who have made a commitment but have not experienced a crisis.
Identity Moratorium
Marcia's term for adolescents who are in the midst of a crisis, but their commitments are either absent or vaguely defined.
Identity Achievement
Marcia's term for adolescents who have undergone a crisis and have made a commitment.
Individuality
Two dimensions: self-assertion and separateness.
Connectedness
two dimensions: mutuality and permeability
Ethnic Identity
An enduring, basic aspect of the self that includes a sense of membership in an ethnic group and the attitudes and feelings related to the membership.
Bicultural Identity
When adolescents identify in some ways with their ethnic group and in other ways with the majority culture.
Clique
A small group that ranges from 2 to about 12 individuals, averaging from 5 to 6 individuals, and can form because adolescents engage in similar activities.
Crowd
A larger group structure than a clique, a crowd is usually formed based on reputation, and members may or may not spend much time together.
Rite of Passage
A ceremony or ritual that marks an individual's transition from one status to another. Most rites of passage focus on the transition to adult status.
Assimilation
The absorption of ethnic minority groups into the dominant group, which often involves the loss of some or virtually all of the behavior and values of the ethnic minority group.
Pluralism
The coexistence of distinct ethnic and cultural groups in the same society. Individuals with a pluralistic stance usually advocate that cultural differences be maintained and appreciated.
Juvenile Delinquent
An adolescent who breaks the law or engages in behavior that is considered illegal.