Contributions of family environment and identity formation towards adolescents' alienation

MENA Dubai 2003 Abstract

Author Damanjit Sandhu and Surinder Tung
Copy This study considers the contributions of family environment and identity formation towards adolescents' alienation. Although the issues of human conflict, violence and aggression are as old as Homo sapiens, they are continuously and increasingly taking heinous forms ranging from trivial domestic violence to wars and terrorism. Tracing back to why conflicts arise, assessment of possible sources suggests that one's family and its environment predisposes him or her to negativity. This article focuses on how Erik Eriksson's theory of psychosocial development explains the roots of conflict, mistrust and doubt right from the early days of life. It also addresses adolescence and how a lack of healthy and firm identity results in alienation, problematic or deviant behavior. Thus to study the contributions of family environment and identity formation process in adolescents alienation, a sample of two hundred students (100 boys & 100 girls, age range 18 to 21 years) from Amritsar City (Punjab, India) were administered the (1) alienation scale (2) family environment scale and (3) ego identity measure. The results show that lack of identity formation and family environment contribute significantly to the alienation of adolescents. Also, conflict in the family is positively correlated with identity diffusion.