Question

4. Describe ONE of James Marcia's adolescent identity statuses (below) and explain its influence on teen behavior either positive or negative. - Identity Moratorium - Identity Foreclosure Fairly self-explanatory, but be mindful of providing specifics about behavior.

Answer 1

• Identity moratorium refers to the phase,when a teenager is discovering onself and trying to find out who they are and what is their purpose in life.It is a phase of actively searching for one's occupational,religious or any other kind of identity to determine who one really is.
• This is the phase of identity crisis for a teenager.A teenager explores various options durng this phase,they might join community groups,recreational groups etc. to find out what interests them and what they want to do in future.
• When they come out with clarity about their purpose in life,they have achieved success,but if there is no clarity,they experience confusion about their role in society which in turn affects their relationships as well.
• This phase is an important part of a teenager's personality development,and one must go through it to understand onself and their preferences in life.For example,someone who was raised in an atheist home,could go on a journey to establish one's racial identity,and find out what one believes in.
• This quest will help the teen to meet new people,to become aware of different cultural beliefs and religions,thus influencing their thought process,and developing their racial and cultural identity.
• One may also develop interest in exploring one's own cultural roots and read more about,meet people belonging to same culture to develop a clarity about their own culture ,language and religion.
• This phase helps the teen to discover various aspects of their identity at different times and finally leads to identity achievement when they reach adulthood,having clarity about oneself as well as a sense of purpose.The success in this phase,makes future adult life less complicated and less confused.