Discussion Question
250-500 Words
1. Define and discuss Erikson's stage of Identity vs. Role Confusion, and then discuss what does the research show regarding whether parents or peers have more influence on a teenagers' search for a sense of "self?" Be sure to answer the question by providing information cited from your text and other academic sources.
2. How do the influences of culture and geography - where and how people live, socioeconomic status (SES), race, family dynamics - act as a contextual factor in identity development?
As you have read in the text, teenagers are on a journey to discover a sense of "self," an identity that is separate from their family. They may begin adolescence with increased turmoil within the core family and an increased focus on the values of peers, but by the end of adolescence, the concept of self is more stable and comprehensive. How does this progression occur? The focus of this Discussion Board is on the process that teens undergo when developing a sense of identity.