Opinion | Identity crises in adolescence, the search for Self-Identity and Self-Discovery

According to developmental Psychologist Erik Erikson, an identity crisis is a psychosocial stage that adolescents go through as they try to figure out who they are as they mature. During this stage, adolescents may question their sense of self and social role, and may try on different identities and ways of being. They may also question their family’s values and cultural norms, and begin to develop their own system of values and unique personality.

Adolescence is a crucial period in the process of development, characterized by extremely swift changes in all respects: physical, emotional, and Psychological. Identity is one of the cardinal factors in human development and involves integration of values, beliefs, and goals into a personal perspective.
In adolescence, one desires to create an identity through the formation of a stable identity that strikes a balance between individual desires and societal expectations. One of the famous developmental Psychologists, Erik Erikson, associated adolescence with identity and Psychosocial crisis of “identity versus role confusion.” Resolution of this crisis results in identity, and failure to resolve it in role confusion. There are so many factors combing to these teenage years most easily prone to identity crises. These include:
1. Biological Change: Hormonal changes during puberty initiate significant biological changes in the body, which further brings in the change in self-concept and body image. Adolescents can hence get confused about their changing bodies in relation to societal ideals and feel bewildered with self-doubts.
2. Cognitive Development: During this teen maturation period, the concrete raises to include much abstract and critical thinking within one’s thought lines. This shifting in thought capability allows questioning of what was once taken for granted and hence provokes one into searching out an identity that was once masked and, therefore, can induce an identity crisis.
3. Social Influences: Peer pressure, social media, and cultural norms highly influence the formation of identity in an adolescent. The urge to belong or to be accepted is, therefore, likely to result in misbehavior at the personal value level, which is likely become an inner struggle later on in life.
4. Family Dynamics: Another major significant determinant of developing identity is a family background, specifically, parental expectations, family values, and family communication forms that can either heal or limit searching for identity in adolescents.
5. Psychological Factors: Adolescents can also suffer psychological problems, low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression that could mark an increase in their likelihood of an identity crisis. Apart from these, the desperation to fulfill the expectations of academic and social life puts more and more emotional stress on the learners.
The manifestations of identity crises during the adolescent years find expression in various forms that include the various spheres of an individual’s life:

1. Emotional instability: A teenager undergoing an identity crisis is hyper-sensitive. He is moody and feels empty confused. Inability to regulate self makes him surly and helpless.
2. Behavioural change: This can also result in behavioural changes like withdrawing oneself from the social environment, testing lifestyles, appearances, and indulging in risk behaviours. All these acts reflect a search for defining self-identity.
3. Academic Performance: Chances are identity crises will have an impact on academic performances, with a lot on the mind of an adolescent, hence it becomes difficult to concentrate the mind or, for that matter, be motivated to study and gain the results set by parents or themselves. The extra burden of trying for good grades amid identity uncertainty adds pressure to the stress levels.
4. Social Relationships: An adolescent experiencing an identity crisis may begin to manifest difficulties in relationship development and maintenance. They start to feel misunderstood, at times totally alone, and develop disagreements with even their peers and family members.
5. Self-Concept: Situations of identity crisis in adolescence will in all likelihood exert a strong effect on self-concept, which may either get fragmented, or there may be a lack of clarity about one’s self. One is not able to reflect on his values, beliefs, and goals, and this creates diffused confusion.
Although crises of identity occur very commonly in adolescence, there are diverse ways in which an adolescent can negotiate this phase of life and come out at the end with the sense of a much stronger self. A few of these methods include:
1. Reflective Practice: Self-reflection during early teenage years may help teenagers find meaning and relations between their values, interests, and aspirations. Journals may also be one way of maintaining with the rearing of exercises on mindfulness, or through open-ended discussions.
2. Supportive Relationships: Creating and maintaining supportive relationships with family, friends, and mentors is key. Relationships provide an open and non-judgmental space where thoughts and feelings verbalized by adolescents can be shared.
3. Exploration and Experimentation: Giving adolescents time and freedom to experiment with different identities and interests enables them to explore this process of self-discovery. This may be expressed by picking up new hobbies, joining clubs, or becoming involved in community activities.
4. Professional Guidance: Moral guidance for warring adolescents from professional persons, including the counsellors and therapists who help resolve the identity crisis. Professional guidance will assist in coping and will know the root of it all.
5. Education and Awareness: Helping young people understand that identity crises are normal and the developmental stage through which these processes go may at least reduce part of their anxiety during this period. Confusion is a part of growth, one needs to be aware of.
6. Goals should be set bearing in mind realism and the capability of reaching them; they provide the teenager with a sense of direction and purpose. Goals should reflect on personal values and interest in a future in order for one to be able to develop a coherent self.
Parents and educators must be there on the front line to assist the adolescents during identity crises. They can provide the young person with a warm and sensitive atmosphere, making him confident in the process of seeking self-identity. Here are ways through which they can contribute:
1. Open Communication: Encouragement of open and honest communication is important if an adolescent is to express their thoughts, or even feelings. The act of listening and validation of experiences is all meant to support the importance of a sense of self-worth.
2. Non-Judgmental: This will enable the youth to have a sense of belonging and be cherished. Parents and educators should not, in one way, enforce their beliefs and expectations on the teens so as to allow them to express themselves and discover their identity.
3. Role Models: A positive role model is one of the needs to be able to instill a sense of identity among adolescents. Demonstrating self-awareness, resilience, and authenticity can be helpful in leading them into their journey.
4. Autonomy Support: This decision, freedom to take decisions and learning from its trials and error, quite important in developing independence and self-reliance as it transitions into adolescence. It would be a way of leading through identity crises rather than being under the control of peers.
Identity crises during adolescence are a natural part of the developmental process.
While this phase might be full of confusion and disorientation, it’s equally an opportunity for amazing self-realization and growth.
It would then support them on this journey, because it would learn what identity crises were caused by and their manifestations to help an adolescent. If rightly guided and supported, the adolescent takes off on a journey with a stronger and more coherent sense of identity that is now able to look into the future with confidence and clarity.
(Writer is a Columnist and a Teacher By Profession and Can be Contacted on mukhtar.qur@gmail.com )