Identity-related decisionmaking among Xhosa-speaking adolescents

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Identity-related decisionmaking by Xhosa speaking adolescents was investigated in thisstudy.Adolescence is an exceptionally challenging developmental phase in the human life cycle,and the development of identity is regarded as a central developmental task during thisdevelopmental phase. The managing and solving of the identity crisis influences the wholepsychosocial development of the individual, and effective personal development is largelydependent on the aquisition of a personal identity.The process of identity development holds further important implications for education andguidance, because a knowledge and understanding of this process can be regarded as acondition for effective educational and psychological intervention. There is a real need forresearch in the field of identity development, especially in the multicultural context.This study focused on the decision-making of Xhosa speaking adolescents in the CapeMetropolitan area concerning matters that can play an important role in their identitydevelopment. From the research literature it appeared that in the past certain differences in thepatterns of identity development were found among different cultural groups. Possibleexplanations for these differences are offered.The empirical investigation, which was conducted by means of interviews, focused firstly onaspects such as the following:• the most important factors that played a role in the participants' lives• important decisions that they have made, the factors and considerations that played a roleand their commitment to these decisions.• their plans and goals for the future, important factors that play a role and theircommitment to these plans and goals.Apart from the above mentioned aspects, the Identity Status Interview (Grotevant andCooper, 1981) was used to investigate identity development in four specific areas, namely,occupation, religion, dating and gender role.For the purpose of the investigation a sample of convenience was constituted of grade 12learners who attended a voluntary Enrichment Programme under the auspices of the South African Institute of Race Relations in Cape Town on Saturdays. The research group consistedof 40 (20 male and 20 female) grade 12 learners.The following were the most important findings:• The parents (in particular the mother) constitute the most important factor in the mostparticipants' lives, but it appears that the parents playa progressively less important rolewhen it comes to the making of specific decisions.• The most important decisions that the participants made in the past are dominated bydecisions regarding their future occupations, and almost all the participants areconsidering tertiary education.• The traditionally strong collectivist approach is apparently on the decline, and a moreindividualistic orientation is becoming evident with regard to , among other things,matters such as future marriage.• With regard to occupational identity, the male participants displayed significantly higherlevels of identity development than the female participants. In spite of the fact that about75% of the male participants were classified in the occupation achievement status, asagainst 35% of the female participants, a qualitative analysis of the interviews indicatedthat the breadth of exploration of both groups was fairly limited.• The religious domain displayed largely the same identity status pattern as theoccupational domain, with significant differences between the two sexes.• Of the four areas of identity development, gender role is the one in which the largestpercentage of participants were classified as being in the achievement status.• Age displays a significant correlation with exploration in the occupational domain andwith the level of commitment in the religious domain.• In the case of female participants, three independent variables (age, family size and theeducational level of the mother) displayed a relationship with the participants' decisionmakingin identity-related areas.Important implications of the findings, recommendations derived from these, limitations andrecommendations for further research are indicated.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University