g explored and parents must allow their child to fully do so in a healthy manner, which will help arrive at a positive identity. However if an identity is imposed upon the adolescent and they are not allowed to explore for themselves, then identity confusion reigns (Santrock 1992). Some individuals may withdraw or turn to drugs and alcohol to relieve anxiety. There are a number of good reasons why Eriksons theory may be correct, and an individuals sense of identity may change considerably through adolescence. It is this period of the life cycle that physical changes occur, which will affect an individuals body image or sense of physical self. Also during this period a pattern of sexual relationships needs to be decided upon while societal expectations urge a young person to make some choice of vocation. However, this supporting evidence only highlights that Eriksons ideas were not obtained via any large-scale surveys, they were infact only based on his own observations, and his clinical practice. Therefore they require the evidence and support of empirical findings to discover when a sense of identity is actually achieved. The most thorough attempt to do this was made by James Marcia (1966), after he developed a interview technique to asses identity status. Within the interview questions relating to occupation, religion, political belief and attitudes to sexual areas would be asked, and depending upon the answers an individual would be placed into one of four groups. These groups are: diffusion (or confusion), where the individual has not yet started thinking about identity seriously, foreclosure, where a commitment has been made but without going through a crisis, moratorium, where the individual is going through a crisis, and finally achievement, where the individual has been through the crisis and has reached a resolution. A number of studies have been undertaken using Marcias scheme and one in particular is of great interest. Meilma...
