Rowan University Rowan Digital Works Theses and Dissertations 7-22-2004 A study of the female formation of identity during the high school years: a qualitative analysis Elisabeth C. Rigney Rowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd Part of the Secondary Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Rigney, Elisabeth C., "A study of the female formation of identity during the high school years: a qualitative analysis" (2004). Theses and Dissertations. 1223. https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1223 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Rowan Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Rowan Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A STUDY OF THE FEMALE FORMATION OF IDENTITY DURING THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS by Elisabeth C. Rigney A Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Science in Teaching Degree of The Graduate School at Rowan University July 20, 2004 Approved by Dr. Donna W. Jorge n Date Approved July 22. 2004 © 2004 Elisabeth C. Rigney ABSTRACT Elisabeth C. Rigney A STUDY OF THE FEMALE FORMATION OF IDENTITY DURING THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS 2003/2004 Dr. Donna Jorgensen Master of Science in Teaching The purpose of this research project was to examine the factors that influence and affect identity formation by female adolescents during the high school years. Group discussion sessions were held for a sample size of 6 participants that introduced certain topics that were deemed relevant to adolescent females' identity formation. Through the group discussions, participants demonstrated that these topics, including body image, family pressure, and relationships, were inherent to the ways they form identity during the high school years. Upon completion of the data collection, the discussion sessions were coded for each topic and then divided by those responses deemed positive, or characteristic of self-worth and acceptance, and those that were deemed negative, or characteristic of submission and inferiority. By coding each response, it was clear which participants had begun to form a healthy identity and which participants were more apt to continue to form a negative identity. Implications for educators on the topic of identity formation in female adolescents and what improvements can be made are discussed, while specific identity analyses of each participant are given. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my fiance, Tim Campbell for his unwavering love and support throughout the past year. I don't know how I would have gotten through without you! I would also like to thank my brother, Patrick Rigney for coming through at the last minute with his computer skills! I knew you were good, but I didn't know you were that good! Thanks! I would also like to thank Dr. Donna Jorgensen for all the guidance and support she gave me throughout this process. Without her, I would not have been able to produce this document. And what a document it is! Finally, I would like to thank all the girls who participated in my research project. They have given me so much insight into what adolescent females go through during the high school years. I never anticipated how much I would learn from them. I will be forever grateful for this entire experience. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS A bstract ................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgments ................................................................................... iii Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................... 3 Research Questions ................................................................... 4 D efinitions .................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2: A Review of the Relevant Literature ................................................. 8 The Role of Educators ..................................................................... 10 Popular Culture and Other Societal Factors ............................................. 12 Women's Perspectives on Adolescence: What Girls Go Through .................. 15 Methods Available to Track Identity Formation ....................................... 17 Sum mary .................................................................................... 19 Chapter 3: Methodology ........................................................................... 21 Participants .................................................................................. 2 1 Instrum ents .................................................................................. 22 Procedures .................................................................... 22 Data Analysis ............. ........ .................................... 24 Chapter 4: Findings.................................................................................26 Chapter 5: Discussion..............................................................................50 R eferences ......... ......... : ......... ..................................................... 86 Appendix A ......... ..................................... 8..............89 Appendix B ......... ...................................... 9..............93 Appendix C ......... .................... 1..................109 iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1. Number of Total Responses in Specified Categories ......... ...................... 27 Figure 2. Total Number of Responses Given by Each Subject in Each Category .......... 28 Table 1. Percentages of Positive and Negative Responses for Each Category ..............29 v Chapter 1: Introduction Throughout the stage of adolescence, females begin a journey that involves a merging of the mind and body that will ultimately bring about the formation of an identity that each can call her own. Over the past decade, considerable research has been done investigating exactly what forces, ranging on the continuum from internal to external, contribute to the formation of identity among adolescent females (Marshall & Arvay, 1999). Most studies have produced results that offer insight into the experiences encountered during the female adolescent years, which comprise a pivotal transition period, and research shows that adolescence can be a far more difficult stage for many teenage girls than has been previously supposed (Kaplan, 1997). The bulk of this research has been done in a qualitative format and has centered on certain psychological models of identity development, such as Erikson's stages of identity and intimacy (Horst, 1995). The studies done thus far have contributed to the knowledge base and information that is available on adolescent females' identity formation. Yet, there are still significant limitations surrounding the previous research, limitations that fail to take into account that many adolescent females fall into a path of silence and inferiority instead of a path of courageousness and self-acceptance, especially in the high school setting under the supposed guidance of educators. Adolescent females will encounter increasingly substantial problems and challenges as the 21st century moves forward. These encounters will occur not only in social settings, but also in the school setting, where an adolescent female continues to shape and mold her permanent identity. Such taboo topics as body image, drug and 1 alcohol use, and sexuality are pushed aside and not discussed in a meaningful way with girls during the high school years. But there are other, more subtle issues that are rarely dealt with by teachers in the classroom setting. In her book, Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture ofAggression in Girls, Simmons (2002) points out, "it is in the classroom that a girl can be socialized into a consciousness of alternative aggressions as nonassertive acts and teachers can show girls that indirection and manipulation are unsatisfactory ways to express negative feelings" (p. 226). It is quite difficult to see such ideas of assertiveness reach fruition without diligent and hard work by educators, parents, and adolescent girls alike. Hence, in order to "understand the processes that girls use to construct or constitute their identities, it is necessary to use newer and more holistic models and metaphors for understanding self-identity" (Hoskins, 2001, p. 233). What Hoskins means is that with the increasing complexity of the social world, "rules, codes, norms, and values are not singular, nor do they fit together into a cohesive account of how to live one's life" (p. 237). Hoskins realizes that newer ways of conducting research concerning adolescent female identity formation are necessary not only because each individual female is different, but also because "we create ourselves not within a fixed, local community with explicit rules and norms, but within vast and complex physical and virtual spaces" (p. 237). Hoskins believes that these kinds of holistic models and metaphors that include social contexts of identities will provide new insight into the thoughts of adolescent girls. Simmons agrees, and her research has utilized the kinds of insightful methods necessary to discover how girls feel about themselves and one another. A qualitative study on how adolescent females form identity 2 is warranted, as young girls continue