Identity, Culture, and Youth – Module 3 Notes

Module Context

• Course: YOUTHWRK $152/152G$
• Module: $3$ – “Identity, Culture, and Youth”
• Lecturer: Dr Laura Ann Chubb (acknowledging Dr John Fenaughty)
• Structure of module (three parts):
  • Part $1$ – Identity development during adolescence
  • Part $2$ – Theories of identity development (Erikson & Marcia)
  • Part $3$ – Intersectional identities via Youth $19$ data

Part 1 │ Identity Development During Adolescence

Learning outcomes

• Grasp why adolescence is identity-focused.
• Trace the historical/theoretical roots of “identity.”
• Explain how identity is shaped (internal + external processes).

Why identity is a key youth issue

• Adolescence = first major restructuring of the self.
• Cognitive growth ⇒ ability to:
  • Recognise contextual self-changes.
  • Visualise possible selves & futures.
• Outer changes (puberty, new roles) catalyse inner changes.
• Rapid expansion of social networks, transitions, & options:
  • New responsibilities, activities, decision points about education, work, relationships.
• Period of concentrated decision-making about the future.

Where does identity come from?

• Bauman ($2005$): We are no longer born into a fixed identity (e.g., social class); must construct one.
• Giddens ($1991$): Modern life becomes a “project of the self.”
  • Identity = ongoing story told to self & others.
  • Less a received package; more an agentic narrative describing:
  • Past (origins)
  • Present (who I am)
  • Future (who I wish to become)
  • Cited in Bradford ($2012$).

Conceptualising “self” as social construction

• Dispositional traits – enduring attributes.
• Characteristic adaptations – situation-specific, role-responsive.
• Self-concept – perception of one’s attributes (positive/negative).
• Self-esteem – value judgment of self-worth.
• Sense of identity – security/clarity of identity.
• Narrative identities – integrative life stories giving meaning.

Adolescence as a psychosocial stage

• Seen as a distinct phase with notable psychosocial characteristics (Adomako $2022$):
  • Personality traits, self-esteem, cognitive & emotional regulation all influence identity work.

Contemporary challenges

• Proliferation of options & influences complicates commitments.
• Social media/tech ⇒ hyper-exposure & comparison.
• Perceived pressure for constant modification over firm commitment.

Shaping identity

• Main developmental task of adolescence.
• Process often involves conflict & contradiction between aspirations and societal limitations (Adomako $2022$).

Key take-aways

• Multifactorial influences (socialisation, relationships, experience).
• Support from family, peers, institutions is vital.

Part 2 │ Theories of Identity Development – Erikson & Marcia

Learning outcomes

• Explain Erikson’s Identity vs. Role Confusion stage.
• Detail Marcia’s identity statuses with examples.

Erikson’s psychosocial framework

• Human life → $8$ sequential crises, each age-salient.
• Adolescent crisis: Identity vs. Role Confusion/Diffusion.
• Goal: establish coherent, unified identity (Steinberg $2011$).

Erikson’s eight stages & crises

1. Trust vs Mistrust (Infancy; $0–18$ mo)
2. Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt ($18$ mo – $3$ y)
3. Initiative vs Guilt ($3–5$ y)
4. Industry vs Inferiority ($5–13$ y)
5. Identity vs Role Confusion ($13–21$ y)
6. Intimacy vs Isolation ($21–39$ y)
7. Generativity vs Stagnation ($40–65$ y)
8. Ego Integrity vs Despair ($65+$ y)

Identity vs Role Confusion specifics

• Role confusion:
  • Earlier crises unresolved negatively.
  • Societal options restricted/misaligned with self.
  • Outcomes: feeling directionless, ill-prepared.
• Healthy path:
  • Identity crisis (exploration) ⇒ moratorium ⇒ commitment.
  • Sets foundation for next stage (Intimacy vs Isolation).

Marcia’s Identity Status paradigm

• Extends Erikson by mapping exploration & commitment axes.
• $4$ statuses:
  1. Identity Achievement – high exploration + high commitment.
  2. Moratorium – high exploration + low commitment.
  3. Foreclosure – low exploration + high commitment (premature commitments, often parental/societal).
  4. Diffusion – low exploration + low commitment.
• Identity is domain-specific (occupation, ideology, relationships).

Well-being correlations

• Achievement
  • Higher self-esteem, personal control, advanced moral reasoning.
• Moratorium
  • Similar positives to achievement but elevated anxiety.
• Foreclosure
  • Linked to fear of rejection, parental dependency.
• Diffusion
  • Avoidance, apathy, social withdrawal, hopelessness.
• Long-term foreclosure/diffusion ⇨ greater adjustment difficulties.

Part 3 │ Intersectional Identities & Youth 19 Data

Learning outcomes

• Apply intersectionality to youth identity.
• Examine Youth $19$ data on Oranga Tamariki (OT)–involved youth.

Intersectionality fundamentals (Roy et al. $2021$)

• Challenges idea that all members of a group share identical experiences.
• Must consider overlapping categories: age, ethnicity, sex, sexuality, gender, disability, religion, education, etc.
• Youth with multiple minority statuses (e.g., Māori Rainbow, Pacific + disability) face amplified inequities.

Navigating multiple identities

• Western linear achievement models ill-fit for diasporic/global youth (Tupuola $2004$).
• Many youth “edge-walk, weaving within/between cultures with ease.”
  • E.g., NZ-born vs Island-born Pacific youth; pan-Asian identities; hybrids enabling both traditional practice & regional opportunities (Ngā tikanga whānaketanga $2019$).

Defining cultural identity

• Sense of belonging to culture/ethnic group via language, customs, traditions, values.
• Influences worldview, self-perception, interactions; source of pride & resilience.

Youth $19$ findings on Oranga Tamariki involvement

• $9\%$ of surveyed youth ever involved with OT; $2\%$ currently.
• Higher prevalence among Māori, Pacific, gender diverse, sexual minority groups (Fleming et al. $2021$).

Cultural knowledge & language

• OT-involved students show similar or higher language/cultural knowledge.
• Yet report lower comfort in cultural settings & less family-origin knowledge (Māori exempt).

Gender & sexuality disparities

• Gender-diverse youth ×$5$ likelihood of OT involvement.
• Sexual minority youth ×$2$ likelihood (Fleming et al. $2021$).

Take-home messages (module-wide)

• Identity is critical in adolescence.
• Effective support requires understanding youths’ self-views & positioning in the social world.
• Identity formation is complex, multi-layered, context-responsive; stage models oversimplify.
• Environments can enable or constrain exploration & commitment.

Workshop / Homework

• Bring an artefact symbolising your identity to next workshop (#$3$) for small-group sharing.

Key Sources (selection)

• Erikson, E. ($1968$) Identity: Youth and Crisis.
• Marcia, J.E. ($1976$) “Identity six years after.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, $5$, $145–160$.
• Steinberg, L. ($2011$) Adolescence.
• Bauman, Z. ($2005$) “Identity in the globalizing world.”
• Giddens, A. ($1991$) Modernity and Self-Identity.
• Roy, R. et al. ($2021$) Negotiating multiple identities.
• Fleming, T. et al. ($2021$) Young people involved with Oranga Tamariki: Identity & Culture.
• Tupuola, A. ($2004$) “Pasifika edge-walkers.”
• (Full list provided on slides pages $31–32$.)