Question

As a 17-year-old high school senior, Julian has no sense of direction. Over the past year he has dabbled in auto mechanics, photography, and Buddhism, but nothing has held his interest for more than a month or so. Julian can best be described as showing:__________

Answer 1

Identity diffusion

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Erikson, adolescents are going through a crisis that has to do with finding their own identity.

Marcia, specifically, identified 4 types of identity (involving exploration and commitment) that adolescents can go through during this stage:

1. Foreclosure: The teenager reached a decision without exploring alternatives.
2. Identity diffusion: The teenager has neither explored alternatives or reached a decision.
3. Moratorium: In this stage, teenagers are currently exploring alternatives but haven't reached a decision just yet.
4. Identity achievement: The teenager explored alternatives and after doing so, he reached a decision.

In the example, Julian has gone through mechanics, photography and Buddhism but nothing has held his interest and he hasn't made a commitment with any of those. It could seem that Julian is in the Moratorium stage (because he's been through many interests) but he actually is not exploring alternatives actively or considered to reach a decision for his future.

Therefore, he's in the identity diffusion stage.