According to the previous literature findings, the individual’s psychological maturation is interdependent with the development of identity and parent-child relations. Psychological maturation is defined as the individual’s capability to be socially functional in an adequate way. According to Erikson (1968), identity implies ‘‘the awareness of the fact that there are a selfsameness and continuity to the ego’s synthesizing methods, the style of one’s individuality, and that this style coincides with the sameness and continuity of one’s meaning for significant others in the immediate community’’ (p. 50). Based on this, the relationships between an individual and his/her social environment play a significant role in identity development and maturation processes.
In childhood and early adolescence, the child’s relationships with parents can be regarded as a “developmental niche” in the formation of identity (Schachter & Ventura, 2008, p. 451). The parent-child relationship is the example of social interrelations in which a young individual receives feedback from the adults. These feedbacks are related to self, and they influence the child’s psychological development. And this social context created in relationships with parents is of greater importance in the period of transition from childhood to adolescence (Schachter & Ventura, 2008, p. 451).
In the case of Talia, a seventeen-year-old biracial high school student, the developmental struggles that are reflected in the low self-esteem, problems with the decision-making and confidence can be explained by the lack of cultural integrity that negatively affects the girl’s sense of identity. Talia’s parents divorced when she was four, and since then she didn’t have solid and sound relationships with her father.
The psychologists widely recognize that parents play one of the crucial roles in the children’s personality formation (Schachter & Ventura, 2008, p. 451). In this way, separation from one or both of the parents may be regarded as a risk factor that interferes with the child’s developmental processes. Moreover, it is observed that “broad cultural factors” influence the developmental process to a large extent (Feldman, 2014, p. 8).
The socio-cultural factors include ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, religion, etc. In the micro-social environment created by the parents of different nationalities, each of them can be regarded as a contributor to identity formation in a young individual. “Cultural belief systems inform parenting practices that organize the daily regularities of children’s lives” (Schachter & Ventura, 2008, p. 451). From the interrelation with each parent, a child receives information regarding parts of his/her cultural identity. In Talia’s case, she misses the Asian part of her identity due to the separation from her father.
According to Erikson (1968), the previous individual’s identifications with parents’ figures play a vital role in the adolescent’s identity formation (p. 54). In their research, Schachter, and Ventura (2008) introduce the “identity agent” concept that “refers to those individuals who actively interact with youth to participate in their formation of an identity” (p. 454). The identity agents take an important part in the fulfillment of the social and cultural identity, and in the research, they are regarded as factors the influence psychological development positively. Talia’s developmental struggles are supported by the given psychological assertions. The lack of confidence in making decisions regarding her future life plans may be regarded as the consequence of the absence of one of the agent’s influences and direction.
Early childhood and adolescence may be considered a sensitive period in human psychological development. According to Feldman (2014), “the absence of particular environmental influences during a sensitive period may hinder development, later experiences can overcome the earlier deficits” (p. 14). Talia is at the point of the sensitive period in her psychological development. She experiences an identity crisis that can be reversed to the state of the psychological well-being through the intervention procedures. In adolescence, the development is characterized by flexibility and plasticity; therefore, the crisis overcoming is possible.
According to Schwartz, Luyckx, and Vignoles (2011), the best way for young adolescents to construct their identity is the “interactive family process” and emotional development (p. 592). It takes time to form the identity, and it is required for Talia to establish a relationship with her parents that are emotionally meaningful to her. The openness to parents is critical for Talia’s cultural and emotional development. It is suggested to apply a narrative approach in cultural identity development. This approach is focused on “meaning-making” through gathering information related to the personal cultural background (Schwartz, Luyckx, & Vignoles, 2011, p. 592).
Through the process of personal investigation, Talia may shape her identity narrative. Along with the reestablishment of close and emotionally meaningful relations with parents, it is observed in the recent research that the effective cultural intervention may include the attendance of “culture camps and homeland tours” (Schwartz, Luyckx, & Vignoles, 2011, p. 593). In this way, a person can learn the customs, traditions, and language through communication with people who are culturally close to them. The interaction with peers and adults who belong to the same cultural background is a part of the narrative approach, and it will help Talia to accumulate culturally related narratives and engage in the process of emotional development that will have positive outcomes in the formation of her identity.
References
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York, NY: Norton.
Feldman, R. S. (2014). Child development: A topical approach. New York, NY: Pearson.
Schachter, E., & Ventura, J. J. (2008). Identity agents: Parents as active and reflective participants in their children’s identity formation. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 18(3), 449–476.
Schwartz, S., Luyckx, K., & Vignoles, V. (2011). Handbook of identity theory and research. New York, NY: Springer.