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Understanding the Self of age) is to achieve bowel and bladder control. Without this, participation in most social and community activities would become impossible for the child. The task during the period of adolescence, according to Erikson is to develop a sense of identity, a satisfactory self-definition. The reason why the stage of adolescence is critical for identity development is because there is an enhanced focus on the development of the self. It is believed that the adolescent faces an identity crisis. This is because of three reasons— 1. This is the time when the person, more than at any other point of her/his life before this, is preoccupied with trying to know oneself. This means that the person is intensely concerned with understanding herself/himself. 2. Towards the end of adolescence the individual creates a relatively lasting sense of selfhood and identity and can say – “This is who I am”. 3. This is also the time when the individual’s identity is influenced by rapid biological changes and changing social demands. Let us understand this in more detail The adolescent is now expected to behave in an adult-like manner and begin to take on responsibilities related to family, work or marriage. This 15 social transformation from dependent child to independent person occurs differently in different cultures. Western cultures generally emphasise independence in terms of ‘separation’ from parents (both physical and psychological). On the other hand, non-western cultures, such as the Indian, focus on interdependence within the family. In all cultures, however, adolescence is reported to be accompanied by dilemmas and disagreements. For instance, it is common to see that an adolescent may rebel against being treated “like a child” but at the same time may herself/himself seek comfort as a child would. The parents too may often tell the adolescent to “behave like a grown up”, but their other actions may indicate to the adolescent that they do not think that she/he is quite grown up. This may be somewhat different for girls and boys depending on the expectations of the family, in a particular culture. Thus, the adolescent herself experiences conflicting feelings and also receives conflicting messages and social expectations from the people around her/him. You may have experienced this for yourself. For example, the family members may expect you to behave in an adult-like manner in social situations as far as talking or dressing is concerned, but may still think you are too young to discuss the family budget. Sinceindividualsaredifferenttheymayresponddifferentlytosituations. The conflicting expectations from familial and societal sources, one’s own changing needs and conflicting emotions may interfere with integrating Reprint 2026-27