Abstract
This paper reports an investigation to test the hypothesis that anxiety concerning a concept of the self in the future will increase with age during adolescence, while anxiety relating to the self in the present will not. Subjects included a total of 80 adolescent boys from schools in a working class area of London, divided into three groups of 12-year-olds, 14-year-olds and 16-year-olds. The results strongly substantiated the hypothesis, and are discussed in relation to Erikson's theory of an adolescent identity crisis.
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At present Senior Lecturer in Psychology at The London Hospital Medical College (University of London). Is both a Developmental and Clinical Psychologist, with interests in adolescence and the preschool years.
Medical student at The London Hospital Medical College, having a special interest in psychology.
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Coleman, J., Herzberg, J. & Morris, M. Identity in adolescence: Present and future self-concepts. J Youth Adolescence 6, 63–75 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02138924
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02138924