Adolescent Identity Development

Words: 587
Pages: 3

This case study tackles the issues of adolescent identity development through the life of a young man named Jon. The case briefly examines Jon’s sexual identity, but the origin of the sexual identity crisis stems from Jon’s identity foreclosure. From an early age in life, Jon was often known for his intellect, thus he was labeled as the scholar of the family. Jon accepted the role since he wanted the approval of the adults who gave it to him. As he went through his middle school years, Jon was determined to live up to the title given to him. He made academics his top priority and did not engage in any of the other activities that his peers were involved in. Throughout his high school career, Jon strove to do what adults thought was the best for people his age to do. As a result, he was deemed the perfect young man who possessed all the admirable characteristics associated with the stereotypical good guy. He stressed himself out trying to adhere to the image of perfection that was forced upon him so that he would continue to receive praise and admiration from adults. …show more content…
Therefore, Jon started questioning everything about his life, including his faith. He was tired of doing things to be considered a respectable kid and he wondered if attending church was one of those things. Jon’s confusion about his religion is similar to numerous adolescents who grew up in their religion. Likewise, I grew up going to church every week, occasionally multiple times a week, not knowing why I went in the first place. All I knew was that I had to be an active church member for it was the right thing for a Christian to do. Jon used his questioning of his faith as a way to examine his religion to grasp his own understanding of it. His deep understanding of his religion also assisted him in determining who he thought he should be; it helped him develop his own