Girls' relational self in Sri Lanka and the United States

The self-conceptions of 100 girls (11-17 years old) from Sri Lanka and the United States were studied from the traditional Western perspective of identity development as a process in which adolescents become increasingly independent and autonomous. This perspective is based on male development in Western countries and may not adequately describe the experience of girls of non-Western adolescents, for whom relationships with others may be central to identity formation. The participating girls drew self-portraits and either answered the question "How would you describe yourself to yourself?" or completed the sentence "I am..." 20 times. The results indicate that relationships and independence are important themes for the girls from the United States and from Sri Lanka. Older girls differed from younger girls in that greater maturity was associated with greater interest in interpersonal relationships and future lives.