Psychology Commons^™

Identity Formation In A Relational Context: A Person-Centered Analysis Of Troubled Youth, Larry F. Forthun, Marilyn J. Montgomery, Nancy J. Bell

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

The purpose of this study was to examine the identity formation of troubled youth (8 female and 12 male adolescents, ages 14–17) in an after-school treatment program for problem behavior. To achieve this goal we (a) garnered information from 2 identity interviews given 6 to 8 weeks apart, (b) adopted a qualitative, person-centered analytical strategy to identify identity profiles, and (c) examined the identity profiles within a relational context, focusing on the developmentally salient domains of parents and peers. Analyses revealed 5 identity profiles similar to the identity statuses previously described by Marcia and others, but with unique phenomenological differences. …