This volume focuses on concepts central to the understanding of the
key features of individuality which undergo significant
transformations throughout the adolescent period: Personality,
self, and ego. While rooted in distinct theoretical traditions,
these three concepts, in combination, capture the core aspects of
the formation of the individual's unique sense of self or identity,
a psychosocial development fundamentally associated with
adolescence. Consistent with the developmental-systems models of
person-context relations at the forefront of current human
development theory and research, the articles within this volume
focus on the dynamic, reciprocal relations between youth and key
socializing agents within their ecologies. Nevertheless, the
articles represented in this volume illustrate that when attempting
to understand the development of personality- and self-systems,
scholars differ in the extent to which they place primary emphasis
on the individual, on the context, or on the relationship between
the two.
For instance, while Bandura (1989) stresses the importance of
the individual's sense of self-efficacy in creating beliefs about
personal agency, Harter, Stocker and Robinson (1996) examine the
link between approval from others (e.g., peers and key adults) and
perceived self-worth, and Kenny and colleagues (1993) study the
impact of emotional attachment to parents on adolescents' self
concepts and depressive symptomatology. Variations in research
designs are also represented within this volume. Several articles
employ longitudinal designs to study continuities and
discontinuities in personality, self, and ego development. Damon
and Hart (1982) focus on the transitions fromchildhood into
adolescence in their examination of self-understanding from infancy
through adolescence. Other articles emphasize the changes in
personality and self that accompany the transition from adolescence
into adulthood: Tubman, Lerner, Lerner, and von Eye (1992) examine
stability and change in temperament, or behavioral style, while
Block & Robins focus on consistencies and variations in
self-esteem, and Waterman (1982) reviews evidence on identity
development. Such longitudinal investigations give primacy to
age-related changes in people. In addition, articles by Baltes and
Nesselroade (1972) and Alsaker and Olweus (1992) employ
cohort-longitudinal designs which enable one disentangle changes in
self-understanding and personality that are associated with
historical time, age, and birth cohort. The remaining articles
focus on diversity in individual experiences across unique
contextual conditions. Topics covered include factors related to
these self systems associated with variation in ethnic and racial
background (Lerner and colleagues, 1980; Luster & McAdoo, 1995;
Spencer & Markstrom-Adams, 1990), gender (Galambos, Almeida,
& Peterson, 1980), sexual orientation (Savin-Williams, 1995),
and family structure (Hauser et al., 1991; Powers, Welsh, &
Wright, 1994).
Despite the variation in emphasis on changes in the individual,
the context, or person context changes over time, the articles in
this volume underscore the point that multiple levels of the
complex and dynamic person-context system must be examined. Only
through such investigations can we further our understanding of the
key aspects of individual differences in personality, self and ego
development. Such understandingis critical for advancing our
knowledge of when and at what levels we should intervene to promote
a commitment to successful roles in adolescence and young
adulthood.
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