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Identity Distress

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Encyclopedia of Adolescence

Overview

The term identity distress refers to “severe subjective distress regarding [the] inability to reconcile aspects of the self into a relatively coherent and acceptable sense of self” (American Psychiatric Association 1980, p. 65). Although relationships between identity formation and mental health have been found, these associations may be largely a function of identity distress symptoms (Berman et al. 2009). Up until recently, there has been very little research on identity distress, leading to the removal of Identity Disorder from the DSM. However, since the development of the Identity Distress Survey (Berman et al. 2004), the research on identity distress has steadily been growing, not only in North America but in a number of countries across the world. Greater attention to the role of identity issues and identity distress in clinical research and practice is probably warranted.

Identity Distress in Adolescence

The term identity distress refers to “severe subjective distress...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL, 32114, USA

    Steven L. Berman

  2. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Carl F. Weems

Authors
  1. Steven L. Berman
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  2. Carl F. Weems
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Correspondence to Steven L. Berman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Roger J.R. Levesque

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Berman, S.L., Weems, C.F. (2016). Identity Distress. In: Levesque, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_143-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_143-2

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32132-5

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