Socioemotional Development in Adolescence

Marcia's theory is based on the idea that there are four different types of identification. Marcia inferred identity statuses such as identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, identity moratorium, and identity achievement.

The adolescent is projected to lack a sense of control over the decisions they make in identity dispersal. The teenager refuses to accept responsibility for their actions and refuses to commit to a long-term endeavor. During the diffusion phase, the person acts as if identity is a non-essential component. Adolescents in the given stage have not consciously reflected on the aspects that characterize them within society. Alternatively, in identity foreclosure the subjected is projected to have committed to an identity that is borrowed from their peers. In the state, the subject is ready and willing to blindly accept value systems which they are offered by their friends and family.

Identity Moratorium

The identity moratorium state marks the beginning of the adolescent’s commitment to a specific ideology. It marks the transition between the previously integrated value system into a new set of beliefs about oneself. At this state, the subject is in a crisis as they seek to shed off the elements of the identity that was imposed on them by their families and peers.

Identity Achievement

The last identity status in the development of the adolescent comprises the identity achievement state. In the state, the adolescent is projected to be able to identify and commit to aa specific set of values that reflects their interests and behavior. The formed ego identity facilitates independent decision making in the involved individual.