Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2026

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
[The differentiation between identity crisis and identity diffusion and its impact on treatment]
Pamela A Foelsch1, Anna Odom, Helen Arena
1Personality Disorder Institut NY, Weil Medical College of Cornell University, USA.
Abstract:
The differentiation between an identity crisis, a transient phenomenon that usually results (after resolution) in a well-integrated identity with flexible and adaptive functioning, and an identity diffusion that is viewed as a basis for subsequent personality pathology, has a major impact on the selection of a treatment method. A new treatment method (Adolescent Identity Treatment, AIT), a modification of Transference Focused Psychotherapy, was developed to treat adolescents with identity diffusion in order to improve their relationships with friends, parents, and teachers and to help them acquire positive self-esteem, clarify life goals and establish a stable identity. In a case study we describe the basic approaches of AIT in assessment and treatment.
Related Concept Videos
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence
Marcia's Theory of Identity Status
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth. This guiding role...
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Role-Based Identity
