Identity in the adolescent

This century, human beings have directed their questioning in on themselves, both at an individual level and at a social level. The fact of controlling the world without having been able to control one’s own inner self creates a potentially very dangerous situation. This leads us to believe that the study of identity in our times is as essential as was the study of sexuality in the time of Freud.

The authors of this work propose the idea that identity is the result of a continuous interactive process of three integrating links: spatial, temporal and social. The first one is composed of the relationship among the different parts of oneself, most importantly, of the physical being, which maintains its cohesion and allows for the comparison and the contrast with others. It tends to differentiate between subject-object. We call it «the spatial integration link». It corresponds to the feeling of individuation. The second one aims at distinguishing a link between the different representations of oneself in time, establishing a continuity between them. We are speaking of the «temporal integration link». It is the basis of the sense of sameness. The third link concerns the social connotation of identity and is provided by the relationship between one’s own features and those of others, by means of identification mechanisms. We are speaking of the «social integration link». It provides the sense of belonging to a group.