Abstract
In order to examine the sense of continuity of adolescents, self-appraisals of retrospective and prospective change or sameness were elicited from Israeli boys and girls in grades 7, 9, and 11 (N=186). With reference to each of 60 self-attributes, these adolescents indicated the amount of change they perceived in themselves, compared with what they were like five years ago. They then estimated how much they expected to change on each attribute five years from now. Most respondents perceived minimal change in themselves, both retrospectively and prospectively. Regression analyses indicated that the lower the amount of perceived change of self, the higher the level of self-perceived adjustment and self-ideal congruence. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future studies of the sense of continuity in adolescence and beyond.
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This research was supported in part by a grant from the University Research Council of the University of Haifa.
Received his M. A. from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Major interests include adolescent personality and the development of the self-concept during the life span.
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Handel, A. Perceived change of self among adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 9, 507–519 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02089887
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02089887