Identity Versus Role Confusion

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Identity versus Role Confusion: Moving to a New Town and starting a new School Human Growth & Behavior June 20, 2012 This research paper is a reflection of the time of my life when I went through Erikson’s stage of identity versus role confusion. After taking this class and really reflecting on this time in my life I have realized that when I was thirteen and moving from Dorchester to Walpole was the very beginning of me going through this stage. While this was also occurring I was going from being in a small Catholic grammar school to a large public high school in Walpole. I think that this very difficult and challenging time in my life made me into the strong person that I am today and becoming very confident in my identity. Erikson stage of identity versus role confusion takes place between ages 12-18 which is where a person goes from being a child into an adolescent during this stage the child branches off from their family and hang out with friends and peers more to find there independence from family and find who they are out in the world. According to John Santrock (2009) “During this time, said Erikson, adolescents are faced with deciding who they are, what they are all about, and where they are going in life.” (p. 386). If a person doesn’t come into their own identity during this stage in Erikson’s theory they would have a hard time continuing on into their adult life. Becoming who you are outside of your home is very important in continuing in life which is hard as it is for parents they have to let their children be independent and try not to smother them which would hinder their growth and development. In my experience at this age I moved from Dorchester going to a small private school where my graduating class had 27 students to public high school that my freshman class alone had 215 students. I was not only going through
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