A process model for conceptualizing identity formation that is developmental, contextual, and life-span in scope is proposed. The framework is consistent with an Eriksonian approach to identity but focuses more specifically on the process of identity exploration. The framework consists of four major components: individual characteristics brought to bear on the identity process, contexts of development, the identity process in specific domains (e.g., occupation, ideology, values, relationships), and interdependencies among the identity domains. Current research in each area is briefly reviewed, and recommendations for future research are outlined.

The purpose of this research was to develop a model of individuation in family relationships that focuses on communication processes, and to assess the links between them and adolescent identity exploration. Expressions of the 4 dimensions of the model--self-assertion, separateness, permeability, and mutuality--were predicted to be positively associated with identity exploration in adolescents. A sample of 84 Caucasian, middle-class, 2-parent families, each including an adolescent and 1 or 2 siblings, was observed in a Family Interaction Task designed to elicit the expression and coordination of a variety of points of view. Multiple regression analyses revealed differentiated results concerning father-son, father-daughter, mother-son, mother-daughter, and marital relationships as well as both positive and negative contributions of communication variables to identity exploration when verbal ability and sociability were controlled. Results are discussed in terms of recent formulations of the progressive redefinition of the parent-child relationship during adolescence.

A relational perspective on adolescence is presented as a model for understanding the origins of psychosocial competence. Changing qualities of the parent-child relationship during adolescence which involve increased symmetry of influence are examined, and individual differences in adolescents’ identity formation and role taking skill are linked to differences in their experience in the family. A model of individuation, which involves qualities of individuality and connectedness in relationships, is presented and used to account for individual differences in adolescent development. Findings from other studies of individuation and of family socialization are cited in support of the view of the origins of psychosocial competence in family experience.

The purpose of this research was to develop a model of individuation in family relationships that focuses on communication processes, and to assess the links between them and adolescent identity exploration. Expressions of the 4 dimensions of the model--self-assertion, separateness, permeability, and mutuality--were predicted to be positively associated with identity exploration in adolescents. A sample of 84 Caucasian, middle-class, 2-parent families, each including an adolescent and 1 or 2 siblings, was observed in a Family Interaction Task designed to elicit the expression and coordination of a variety of points of view. Multiple regression analyses revealed differentiated results concerning father-son, father-daughter, mother-son, mother-daughter, and marital relationships as well as both positive and negative contributions of communication variables to identity exploration when verbal ability and sociability were controlled. Results are discussed in terms of recent formulations of the progressive redefinition of the parent-child relationship during adolescence.

Cultural socialization attitudes, beliefs, and parenting behaviors were examined in families with internationally adopted children. The authors hypothesized that parents with lower color-blind racial attitudes would be more likely to engage in enculturation and racialization parenting behaviors because they hold stronger beliefs in the value and importance of cultural socialization. Using data from the Minnesota International Adoption Project, the results support this mediation model of cultural socialization. Individual variations in cultural socialization also are discussed in terms of child development and shifting adoption attitudes and practices.Keywords cultural socialization; international adoption; parenting; racial attitudes; transracial International adoption is becoming an increasingly popular means to form a family in the United States. Since 1971, over 330,000 children have been adopted from other countries, and there has been a threefold increase in the annual rate of international adoption, from 7,093 children in 1990 to 22,884 children in 2004 (U.S. Department of State, 2005). The increase in international adoption is attributed to war, poverty, and the lack of social welfare in sending countries and, in the United States, to increased infertility rates, perceived difficulties associated with domestic adoption, preference to adopt infants rather than older children, and a disinclination toward foster care adoption (R. M. Lee, 2003). Today, children-mostly infants and toddlers-are adopted annually from over 100 countries, with approximately 90% of children adopted from just 20 countries and the majority from China, Russia, South Korea, and Guatemala.International adoption also reflects a larger, growing trend toward multiracial and multiethnic families, who face unique challenges in the upbringing of children of different ethnic and racial heritages. Research suggests that same-race and transracially adopted children begin to become aware of racial differences, as well as their adoptive status, as early as 4-5 years of age (Brodzinsky, Singer, & Braff, 1984;Huh & Reid, 2000). As transracial adoptees grow older, Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Richard M. Lee Lee & Quintana, 2005). At the same time, they may begin to experience feelings of loss of birth culture and family history and the growing awareness of racism and discrimination in their everyday lives (Meier, 1999;Powell & Affi, 2005). This feeling of loss, in turn, has been found to be associated with greater depressive symptoms and lower self-worth among domestically and internationally adopted preadolescents (Smith & Brodzinsky, 2002). Similarly, Cederblad, Höök, Irhammer, and Mercke (1999) reported that uncertainty about one's ethnic identity and perceived discrimination are related to greater psychological distress and lower self-esteem among international adoptees. Adoptive parents, most of whom are White and of European descent, likewise are confronted with decisions about when and how to appropri...

This article summarizes the research on the developmental outcomes of postinstitutionalized children and discusses the implications for social policy. Postinstitutionalized children often reach their adoptive families with varying degrees of physical growth retardation, cognitive delays, and socioemotional problems. Many children demonstrate remarkable recovery following adoption. Unfortunately, some of the children continue to display significant problems that require professional intervention. It appears that the children's recovery may be influenced by their early experiences with their birth family and in institutional care, and there is suggestive evidence that postadoption experiences also play a role. These findings indicate that preadoption and postadoption services may support the outcome of postinstitutionalized children.

Using Add Health data, the authors provide evidence that some adolescents gave inaccurate and/or invalid responses on a self-administered questionnaire. Further analyses show that these adolescents were much more likely to report extreme levels on psychosocial and behavioral outcome variables. A distinction was made between inaccurate responders (e.g., inaccurate/false responses due to carelessness or confusion) and jokesters (e.g., intentional false responses). The findings show that the jokesters showed considerably more pronounced distorting effects on some psychosocial and behavioral outcome variables than the inaccurate responders did. The authors suggest that although this jokester effect may not seriously bias the results in studies that focus on large groups, for research focusing on some special subgroups (e.g., adoption groups, immigrant groups, disability groups), this effect could pose a serious challenge for the validity of research findings.

Observations of f a m i b communication indicate that adolescents who exhibit greater degrees of identi& exploration and role-Although the adolescent's competence is typically judged in terms of the success with which the adolescent has been launched into worlds outside the family, little is known about individual differences in such competence, and few studies have attempted to account for them. This chapter focuses on the family as a context for the development of two aspects of psychosocial competence in late adolescence: a sense of identity and role-taking skill.This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health and from the University Research Institute and the Institute of Human Development and Family Studies of the University ofTexas at Austin. We express our appreciation to the 121 families who generously shared their time by participating in the project. We especially thank Susan Ayers-Lopez, Tim Gregg, Patricia Griffin Heilbrun, Thomas Hoeffner, Linda Lamb, Margaret Meyer, and Laura Seymer, staff members whocontributed to the completion of the project with extraordinary dedication, intelligence, and fine colleagueship, and Linde Soderquist for her assistance with the preparation of the manuscript. Our general approach to the study of families is transactional. It recognizes that the directions of influence in the family include multiple and reciprocal pathways. It is consistent with theoretical statements by Belsky (1981), Hartup (1979Hartup ( , 1983, Lerner (Lerner and Spanier, 1978), Sameroff (1975), and Lewis (Lewis and Feiring, 1979), who all have emphasized the importance of understanding the development of the child within the context of family relationships. However, we have also incorporated constructs concerning the relation between family process and adolescent development derived from family systems theory into our investigation. Family systems theory (for example, Beavers, 1977;Broderick and Smith, 1979;Hill, 1971; Lewis and others, 1976) is seen as especially appropriate for this work for three reasons. First, it acknowledges the multidirectionality of influences within the family. Second, it facilitates the conceptualization of each person in the family as a developing individual and of the whole family as a changing mix of competencies and needs (R. Hill, 1979). Third, it permits us to conceptualize subsystems within the family, relations among these subsystems, and roles that individuals play within various family subsystems.The vast majority of the empirical work concerning the launching of the child into worlds outside the family has focused on infants and preschool children. Several studies have demonstrated, for example, that the security of the mother-child attachment is predictive of the child's later effectiveness in peer relations (Lieberman, 1977; Waters and others, 1979) and in independent exploration of spatial environments (Hazen and Durrett, 1982). This theme has been extended by Ha...