The Four Statuses of Identity

• James Marcia (1980, 1994, 2002) stressed. Erickson's theory of identity development entails four identity statuses or ways of resolving identity crisis. He defines the term crisis as a period of identity

  development during which the adolescent, is choosing among meaningful alternatives. By commitment is when adolescents show a personal investment in what they are going to do Let us examine each one:

  1. Identity diffusion

  2. Identity foreclosure

  3. Identity moratorium

  4. Identity achievement
• Identity diffusion - a state when adolescents have not yet experienced an identity crisis or made any commitments; consequently, the individual may drift aimlessly and become manipulative or, self-centered. Example: a 13-year-old girl has neither begun to explore her,

  identity in a meaningful way nor made an identity commitment.
• Identity foreclosure - a state when adolescents made a commitment but have not experienced yet a crisis this status often occurs when parents hand down commitment to their children in an authoritarian way; thus, they have not explored yet their different approaches, beliefs, or inclinations. For example, an 18-year-old boy's family wanted him to take engineering and so he is planning to take it without exploring first his skill: and inclinations if he is capable of the

  course.
• Identity moratorium - a state when adolescents are in the midst of identity crisis but have not made a clear commitment to a identity; Example: Carmina is contemplating on what course to

  take. She asked her guidance counselor to discuss her career options.
• Identity achievement - a state when adolescents suffered an identity crisis and made a commitment; consequently, the individual has achieved continuity and stability and has come to accept his/ her self-concept and commitments. Example Gino went through serious career exploration and successfully) graduated from college with a degree in Education program He Looks forward to his first teaching job this school year.