IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT: AN OVERVIEW OF ADOLESCENTS‪.‬

Byline: Iram Batool and Nighat P. Gillani The present study explored the identity development process of adolescents in a collectivistic cultural background of Pakistan. The sample consisted of 80 boys and girls, 40 each from urban and rural settings. A convenient sample was se-lected from 10 different colleges and higher secondary schools of Multan and its suburbs. Ego-Identity Interview was used to asses the identity level of ado-lescents. It was a semi structured interview (Marcia, 1966) and assesses identity in six domains on the basis of the level of exploration and commitment of indi-viduals. Four statuses were assigned after careful analysis of the data including identity achieved, moratorium, foreclosed, and diffused. An open-ended ques-tionnaire was also used to see the orientation of adolescents towards individual-ism or collectivism at personal level. Results indicated that majority of adoles-cents were foreclosed in the domains of occupation (31%), religion (81%), politics (47%), and sex roles (64%).