M.A. / The aim of this research is to ascertain the unique character of late-adolescence in order to strengthen the counselling and ministry of late-adolescents. The first aim was to ascertain the particular problems of identity development and psychosocial adjustment of late-adolescents. The research concentrates on different aspects of development such as cognition, sexuality, self-actualisation and commitments. In order to comprehend the complexity of late-adolescents, the following aspects should be taken into account: identity, body-image, intimacy, careerchoice, personal values and philosophy of life. A literature study was done to draw a comparison between the developmental theory of Erik H Erikson and the classical and more contemporary views on these concepts. Erikson described eight life stages in human development. The research focuses on the first six stages which culminates in achievement of intimacy and identity. The research showed that six concepts, trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, identity and intimacy, are intertwined in the development of a healthy personality. This information need to be used in the counselling and ministry process. The second aim was to measure the psychological adjustment of late-adolescents by means of two questionaires: the EPSI-scale. (Eriksonian Psychological Stage Inventory) and the Erikson-scale. The questionaires were structured to measure the six major concepts of Erikon's theory. The lack of correlation between the EPSI and Eriksonian scales opens the door to research on a questionaire which can measure the Eriksonian concepts of psychosocial development. The following methods were used in the processing of the results of the questionaires: Student T-test for small groups and the Spearman correlational coefficient. The variables that were tested were sex, age and ethnicity. There were no statistical significant differences among the scores of the three ethnical groups. This leads to the conclusion that Erikson's theory is applicable to the South African adolescent population. Identity and psychosocial adjustment are major concepts in the development of lateadolescents and could be regarded as a relevant field of study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:9328 |
| Date | 15 August 2012 |
| Creators | Hugo, Carel Johannes |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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