Factors Reducing the Risk of Social Maladjustment: A Narrative Approach to Adolescent Identity Formation

• Authors: Izabella Haertlé , Piotr Oleś

Abstracts

EN

The research aimed to check if the construction of narrative identity by adolescents at risk of maladjustment contributes to their adaptive social functioning. It also aimed to identify factors related to identity on which the adjustment of adolescents at risk of social maladjustment depends. A natural experiment was conducted in Poland among youths from sociotherapy centres (n = 60, aged 18–20 years, 33 women and 27 men). A group of graduates at these centres (n = 31, aged 21–24 years, 17 women and 14 men) was included in the exploratory study and compared with the group of students in terms of maladjustment, ego-resiliency, and identity. The experiment shows that the construction of a narrative identity through a life story interview contributes to better social adaptation, which means a lower risk of maladjustment. The diffuse-avoidant identity style predisposes to maladjustment, whereas ego-resiliency is associated with a higher level of adjustment. Thus the narrative interview method can find application in the therapy of adolescents at risk of maladjustment.

Keywords

EN

maladjustment; narrative approach; adolescence; identity processing styles; life story interview; self-confrontation method

• Publisher: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II. Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL
• Journal: Roczniki Psychologiczne
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 47-65

Dates

published

2023

Contributors

author

Izabella Haertlé

• SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities

• https://orcid.org/0000000263243945

author

Piotr Oleś

• John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

• https://orcid.org/0000000221471309

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Identifiers

DOI

10.18290/rpsych2023.0003

Biblioteka Nauki

31341009