Psychological Science and Education
preprints
doi:10.17759/pse.2026000005
ISSN: 1814-2052 / 2311-7273 (online)
Personal identity of modern adolescents: results of an all-Russian study
Abstract
Context and relevance. The theoretical significance of the work is related to the need to correlate the cultural and historical approach in understanding adolescence, identity theories and modern ideas about the dynamics of the development of the Self-concept. The practical and social value of the research is determined by the need to actualize the developing educational influences in relation to adolescents. Objective. The purpose of the study is to analyze the features of personal identity (namely, the profile of self-perception and clarity of Self-concept) of modern Russian adolescents. Hypotheses: there are differences in the profile of self-perception and clarity of Self-concept among adolescents, taking into account factors such as gender, age, academic achievement, territory of residence; there are significant links between the profile of self-perception and clarity of Self in adolescents. Methods and materials. The survey was conducted using the methods 1) "Self-perception profile for adolescents" adapted by N.K. Radina, E.Y. Tereshenkova and 2) The scale "Clarity of Self-concept" adapted by V.V. Vdovenko, S.A. Shchebetenko, E.B. Starovoitenko. The participants are more than 62,000 teenagers from 85 regions of Russia aged from 11 to 17 years. Results. Gender, age, academic performance, and life in difficult conditions have virtually no effect on the self-perception and formation of the Self-concept of adolescents. The turning point of 11-12 years in the development of self-clarity has been empirically identified. Significant positive relationships between self-clarity and a number of aspects of adolescents' self-esteem have been established. Conclusions. The picture of the direction and content of the development of adolescents' personal identity obtained in the study confirms the relevance of the patterns formulated in the classical theories of E. Erikson and D.B. Elkonin.
General Information
Keywords: adolescence, personal identity, self-perception, self-concept, self-clarity, self-esteem, reflection, digital socialization
Article type: scientific article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/pse.2026000005
Funding. The study was carried out under the State Assignment of the Ministry of Enlightenment of the Russian Federation No. 073-00069-25-03 dated April 24, 2025, “Developing a Psychological Profile of Contemporary Children and Adolescents and Identifying Conditions for Their Well-being.
Received 17.12.2025
Accepted
Published
For citation: Shapovalenko, I.V., Kochetova, Y.A., Semya, G.V., Merkul, I.A., Radchikov, A.S. (2025). Personal identity of modern adolescents: results of an all-Russian study. Psychological Science and Education. Early Access. https://doi.org/10.17759/pse.2026000005
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