Identity Development Models

1. Bill Owenby Counseling Adolescents Identity Development Models

2. Initial thoughts • What does “Identity Development” sound like?

3. Initial thoughts Who are some people you can think of when with think ‘identity development’ and or ‘models’? Why were models developed? Who do they assist?

4. Initial thoughts • Now, add in the cultural aspect; what do you think is the process one goes through, particularly as a child?

5. Before a definition and explanation….. • First, think about what your own uniqueness as an individual • Could be related to: • Race • Ethnicity • Sex • Disability(s)/Abilities • Age • Culture • What else? Others you can think of?

6. Before a definition and explanation…… • Now, think of your own process of identity development you experienced • What do you remember? • Who do you remember? • What did you feel? • Who did this impact, including yourself? In other words, how were you treated at each step and how does each previous step contribute to the next? Can’t think of any?

7. Examples • Ever traveled to another country? • -possibly more important, why did you go there and leave your current residence? • If not another country, how about moved across the country? Or across the state? Even across the city? Different culture?

8. Example 2 • Ever joined a club/team? • What were the expectations from others? From you? • How were you treated? How were you avoided? • How did you become included? • (please consider these as only topical and limited examples for an initial point of this model)

9. Why identity development? • Derald Wing Sue (2001) proposed a Tripartite Model of Personal Identity • This model can be used to describe 3 levels included in identity development:

10. First Level • Individual: • each person is unique in genetic makeup, personality, and personal experience (individual differences set us apart from other human beings) • Examples: hair color, introvert/extravert, etc. • Other examples??

11. Second Level • Group: focuses on the basic similarities and differences among individuals (society divides us up into groups based on various demographic characteristics, therefore a part of our identities is based on our membership in these groups) • Examples: Culture, neighborhood, sex, etc. • Why is sex in this level and not the first level?

12. Third Level • Universal: there are characteristics that we share with all other human beings such as biological needs (food/water), physical similarities (anatomical similarities), common life experiences (birth/death), and common practices or behaviors (i.e.-the use of language for communication) • Examples: Maslow Hierarchy of Needs?

13. Third Level (cont.)

14. Why is identity development important? • Can be used to explain the theory of self-concept • defined as a collection of beliefs about oneself. • Also defined through the question “Who am I?” • Carl Rogers coined the term ‘3 selves’ which include: • Ideal- Who you strive to be • Actual- Who you are at the present moment • Perceived- Who you are in the eyes of others

15. How do we know it exists? • Ever had an identity crisis? Remember Erikson’s Psychosocial stages?

16. Most particularly (for teenagers)…….

17. Our to think about ourselves…..

18. Definition: Cultural Identity Development • Phinney (1990) describes ethnic identity “as a complex construct including a commitment and sense of belonging to one’s ethnic group, positive evaluation of the group, interest in and knowledge about the group, as well as involvement in activities and traditions of the group.” • Phinney (1989) reports further definition surrounding the examination and questioning of preexisting attitudes and assumptions as a necessary step toward identity achievement.

19. Other models for future review….. • J. Kim (1981) Asian American identity development • A.S. Ruiz (1990) Hispanic identity development • W.E. Cross (1971) Cross model of Black identity development • Root (1990) developed a Multiracial model of identity development based out of the increase in multiracial couples and children over the last three decades

20. Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model (Sue & Sue, 2008) (previously called Minority Identity Development (MID) model) • Stage 1 • Conformity • Individuals exhibit a preference for the dominant cultural values over their own. Individuals identify with and refer to the primary/dominant culture. Downplaying and feeling negative about one’s own culture is part of this stage and by extension, their identity development. • (Saved By The Bell reference)

21. Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model • Stage 2 • Dissonance- in this stage, the individual has an encounter or experience that is inconsistent with culturally held beliefs, attitude, and values from stage 1 (conformity). • Ex: someone who is ashamed of their culture encounters someone who is proud of their heritage. Typically denial sets in, and questioning of one’s beliefs are initiated. • Ex: The assassination of MLK Jr; this caused the shift of many African Americans to move from passive conformity stage to a dissonance stage.

22. Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model • Stage 3 • Resistance and Immersion- In this stage, a person typically feels anger, guilt, and shame at the oppression and racism that they previously accepted from stage 1 (conformity). • This stage is marked by an endorsement of one’s original culturally-held views and rejects the dominant view they previously held.

23. Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model • Stage 4 • Introspection- During this stage, individuals devote more time and energy towards understanding themselves as a part of the minority group at a deeper level. • In contrast to the intense reactivity at the previous stage (3- Resistance and Immersion), one becomes more pro-active in defining and discovering their sense of self not only as an individual, but as a part of a group.

24. Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model • Stage 5 • Integrative Awareness- This stage includes a sense of security and the ability to appreciate positive and negative aspects of both their own and dominant cultural differences and similarities. • Individuals have typically resolved conflicts in previous stages and possess feelings of control and flexibility, in addition to continuously trying to eliminate forms of oppression.

25. So…… • Why stages? • How are they useful to use • Personal • Professional

26. Therapy implications • Awareness of this model and one’s identity development can attribute to such areas as: • Stereotypical transactions and assumptions may impact the therapeutic relationship • What you feel is the best way to assist may be insulting to someone different than you • When providing services to someone different than you culturally, is it best to keep that individual and ‘push through’ or place with someone similar culturally? • Microaggressions are common in everyday language at times

27. But what is a microaggression? Sue (2013) • Simply stated, microaggressions are brief, everyday exchanges that send demeaning messages to marginalized groups. • In the classroom, students of color, for example, often describe microaggressions as a pattern of being overlooked, under-respected and devalued because of their race. • When racial microaggressions occur, they present a highly charged racial situation that challenges both teacher and students alike. • The perpetrators (whether teachers or other students) are often unaware that a microaggressive event, incident or communication has occurred. They may, however, sense that something is brewing but be unable to identify or articulate it.

28. Microaggression examples • Racial Microaggressions • A Black student is complimented by the professor as being articulate and bright. • (Hidden Message: Most Blacks are inarticulate and lack intelligence.) • A third generation Asian American student is complimented by a White classmate for speaking such “good English.” • (Hidden Message: Asian Americans are perpetual aliens in their own country.) • Gender Microaggressions • A female resident (physician) wearing a stethoscope is mistaken by medical students for a nurse. • (Hidden Message: Women should occupy nurturing and not decision-making roles. Women are less capable than men.) • Male students in private refer to a female professor as a “bitch” while their male counterparts are described as “decisive and assertive teachers.” • (Hidden Message: Women should be passive and allow men to be decision makers.)

29. Microaggression examples • Sexual Orientation Microaggressions • Students in class refer to a fellow straight student as “gay” (“That’s so gay!”)who is socially ostracized. • (Hidden Message: People considered weird, strange, deviant or different are “gay.”) • A lesbian client reluctantly discloses her sexual orientation to a straight counselor trainee by stating that she was “into women.” The counselor indicates he is not shocked by the disclosure because he once worked with a client who was “into dogs.” • (Hidden Message: Same-sex attraction is abnormal and deviant.) • Other Socially Devalued Group Microaggressions • When bargaining over the price of a used book, one student says to the other “Don’t try to Jew me down.” • (Hidden Message: Jews are stingy and moneygrubbing.) • A blind student reports that the professor and fellow students raise their voices when speaking to him in class. He responds by saying “Please don’t raise your voice; I can hear you perfectly well.” • (Hidden Message: A person with a disability is defined as lesser in all aspects of physical and mental functioning.)

30. Therapy implications • Premature termination rates are higher amongst minority clients due to counselor’s unawareness/biasedness towards one’s own culture (ethnocentrism) • Why? Return rate of minority clients are lower due to the counselor’s inability to assess their identity accurately

31. Therapy implications • Sociopolitical influences can have an impact on one’s identity development • Protests, marches, sit-ins, police force, profiling, assumptions in general; all surrounding oppression thus impacting identity

32. Study on how conformity and identity are prevalent in society • Clark and Clark (1947) • 2 dolls- 1 white and 1 black • Asked both white and black children: • Which one they preferred? • Which one was ‘bad’? • Which one looked like them? What were the results?

33. What techniques might you consider for an individual seeking counseling? • What could an adolescent individual in counseling therapeutically ‘look’ like? • Anxiety • Conduct Disorder • Depression • Learning Disorder • Low Self Esteem • Oppositional • School Refusal • Anger/fighting • What else have you seen thinking back to your own clientele?

34. Techniques in Therapy • Depends! • Your technique depends on numerous factors: • Your background (such as…..?!) • Their background • Your approach • Their needs • Your style • Their interpersonal style • Your expectations • Their age and cognitive capabilities

35. Recommendations for Reading • If you are interested in learning more about Adolescent interviewing and counseling skills, go to the Chima Bldg./Dept of Counseling Clinic library and check out: • Fontes, Lisa A. (2008). Interviewing Culturally Diverse Children and Adolescents. Interviewing Clients Across Cultures(pp. 198-226). The Guilford Press, NY. • Anything you can get your hands on, as there is little information out there not only for Best Practice with children/adolescents, but culturally diverse children and adolescents • My next lecture will cover Best Practice for culturally diverse children and adolescents

36. What about you? • Does your own personal biases get in the way? • How might they come about in counseling? • Have you gone through this yourself? • What if you’re thinking “But I’m part of the dominant culture”? • How do you know that? How do you define yourself and compare for confirmation of the dominant culture?

37. Review: • Why is it important to know this? • Helps with identifying social and personal biases and thoughts that could impact the relationship • Helps everyone; both inside and outside of the office. If change starts with the individual, how will you change to help others?

38. Majority/White Identity Development Model • Overall question in mind throughout today: • What does it mean to be white? • (can be thought of and responded by anybody)

39. Why Important to identify this? • Regardless if you fall into this ‘group’ or not, it is still important to see your reactions/responses to such a question • Research says…… • The level of racial identity awareness, or lack thereof, is predictive of racism (Pope-David & Ottavi, 1994) • This means that they less aware one is of their identity, the more likely there were to exhibit increased levels of racism! Further research shows that one’s racial identity is related to their readiness for training in multicultural counseling (Carney & Kahn, 1984).

40. Various models of Majority Identity Development • Hardiman White Racial Identity Development (1982) • Helms White Racial Identity Development (1984) • Sue & Sue White Racial Identity Development Descriptive Model (1990) • Focus of today

41. A Descriptive Model • 7 stages, or ‘statuses’ a person within the dominant culture transitions through, or considered a ‘looping and recycling’ approach

42. White Identity Model of Development • Developed from a curiosity to understand how the dominant/white culture developed at the time to an increase in minority/culturally different population • Similar to other identity developments, yet different

43. Stage 1 • Naïveté phase: • Typically within the first 3 years of life • One is usually neutral to differences, and exhibits a curiosity for differences in culture • Between ages 3-5, a white child begins to associate positive ethnocentric meanings to their own, and negative ones to others • Why?! (or how?)

44. Stage 2 • Conformity phase: • One’s attitudes and beliefs are considered very ethnocentric, typically based on trust and faith that others, usually older and in masses, have provided them with accurate information • Considered a ‘white superiority and minority inferiority’ thought process • One will identify themselves as white, but deny belonging to a particular race; this alleviates responsibility for perpetuating a racist system • Considered with statements such as ‘we are all the same under our skin’; ‘we should treat everyone the same’; ‘problems wouldn’t exist if minorities would only assimilate’; particularly in the helping professional, this is considered a color-blindness approach, where all theories are culturally sound and universal.

45. Stage 3 • Dissonance phase: • Where a thought, or more impactful, a situation arises within a white person that demonstrates that ‘not all are treated equal’ • Ex: thinking ‘I treat all people equally’, but then an African American person moves next door, or dates your child, etc. • With the increased reality, a person typically feels uncomfortable in the form of guilt, shame, anger, depression, and feelings of helplessness • Hear a racist comment or see a racist act, but does not do anything to correct it due to the typical rationalization of one’s inactivity by now believing ‘I am only one person, what can I do to correct a systemic problem?’

46. Stage 4 • Resistance and Immersion phase • Awareness of all around you! • This is the stage where one’s eyes are opened up, and sees all the racial stereotyping, whether direct or indirect, conscious or unconscious in our society (advertising, clothing, food) • Typically anger at friends/family for providing a false reality • Guilt at self for having be a part of such oppressive system • Negative feelings about being white are presented • White liberal syndrome- one of two roles develop: protector or overidentificator.

47. Stage 5 • Introspective phase • No longer denying that one has participated in the oppressive, ‘white privilege’, ‘racism does not exist’ mentality • One becomes more involved through curiosity, independence, and desire to change how one identifies with their culture and race, rather than motivated by denial, anger, and guilt. • This is the stage one typically considers questions such as: ‘what does it mean to be white?’; who am I in relation to being white?’; who am I as a racial/cultural being?’

48. Stage 6 • Integrative & Awareness phase • Characterized as • 1. understanding the self as a cultural being • 2. aware of sociopolitical influences on racism • 3. appreciating cultural diversity • 4. becoming more committed to eradicating oppression • One’s identity becomes more internalized through valuing multiculturalism, comfortable around members of many groups, and comfortable in a society that is marginally accepting lf integrative and aware white persons

49. Stage 7 • Commitment to Antiracist Action phase • Where one sees wrong and actively works towards correcting it • Educating family, friends, others and attempts to correct in social and societal areas • Comes with cost • Can be lonely; family and friends may ostracize this person, following the concept of ‘don’t rock the boat’, threats of disownment, labeled a troublemaker, denial of professional advancements • Think of as a cultural whistleblower • Underlying joke: the ultimate white privilege is the ability to acknowledge racism and do nothing about it.

50. Comparisons of both models