James Marcia, Identity Status
Foreclosure- An adolescent adopts parents’ or society’s roles and values wholesale, rather than exploring alternatives and forging a personal identity. A typical example is a young man who has always wanted (or been pressured) to follow in his father's footsteps and does so.
Identity Diffusion - Typically having few commitments to goals or values and often being apathetic about taking on any role. These young people have difficulty meeting the usual demands of adolescence, such as completing school work, finding a job, and thinking about the future. Instead, they sleep too much, waste time watching television and hanging out, and claim not to care about anything because "nothing matters" or "whatever.." Diffusion is not exactly an identity status as much as a lack of any status, any self-definition, any commitment.
Identity Moratorium- A kind of time-out during which they experiment with alternative identities (possible selves). The culture provides formal moratoriums through various institutions. The most obvious example is college, which usually requires that students sample a variety of areas before concentrating on any particular one.
Identity Diffusion - Typically having few commitments to goals or values and often being apathetic about taking on any role. These young people have difficulty meeting the usual demands of adolescence, such as completing school work, finding a job, and thinking about the future. Instead, they sleep too much, waste time watching television and hanging out, and claim not to care about anything because "nothing matters" or "whatever.." Diffusion is not exactly an identity status as much as a lack of any status, any self-definition, any commitment.
Identity Moratorium- A kind of time-out during which they experiment with alternative identities (possible selves). The culture provides formal moratoriums through various institutions. The most obvious example is college, which usually requires that students sample a variety of areas before concentrating on any particular one.