Working class membership and the adolescent identity crisis

The purpose of this study was to compare the identity status of employed, working class youth with status frequencies reported by Marcia for middle class college students of the same age. Also, an exploratory content analysis was used to suggest factors that block and facilitate identity achievement within the working class group. Identity status ratings were obtained for twenty-eight working class males who were interviewed with Marcia's semistructured questionnaire. Comparisons revealed that the working class youth were more likely than the middle class youth to be in either an identity achievement or diffusion status, and less likely to be in a state of crisis or to have accepted the values of parents without question. Additionally, youth who had both experienced a crisis and resolved that crisis tended to perceive fewer blocks to the opportunity to take part in desired experiences or discussions than other youth. The research suggests that the development of identity may differ between social classes and that experiences outside of the family are significant influences on identity status.