The process of identity formation during the transition from adolescence into adulthood and its determinants are currently a central issue in the social sciences. On the one hand, the huge variety of possibilities presents the opportunity to expand the fields of exploration and to tailor commitments to individual aspirations and preferences. On the other hand, increasing instability and Bauman’s liquidity of the social environment of development may create threats that impede the making of decisions, engaging in their realization, and identifying with the choices made. James Marcia’s two-stage model of identity formation no longer adequately describes and accounts for paths of identity development. The dynamic dual-cycle model of identity formation developed by Koen Luyckx and collaborators is much more accurate. Although identity continues to develop throughout course of life, childhood, and adolescence in particular, seems to be pivotal from the point of view of which developmental trajectory the individual is on at the moment of his/her entry into adulthood. From this point of view, the factors which we regard as crucial for identity formation are shame proneness and shame regulation strategies on the one hand, and the system of personal beliefs about one’s life and related key social experiences which define the quality of social participation of adolescents on the other hand.

Conditions of Identity Development during the Transition Period from Adolescence to Adulthood

James Marcia’s two-stage model of identity formation has ceased to be sufficient to describe and account for identity formation paths. The dynamic dual-cycle model of identity formation developed by Koen Luyckx and collaborators proves to be much more accurate. Identity is formed in the whole course of human life, although the period of childhood and, in particular, adolescence seem to be pivotal from the point of view of what trajectory of development the individual is on at the moment of entering adulthood. From this point of view the factors which we regard as crucial for identity formation are, on the one hand, proneness to shame and the shame regulation strategies and, on the other, the system of personal beliefs about one’s life and related key social experiences which define the quality of social participation of adolescents