Factors Reducing the Risk of Social Maladjustment: A Narrative Approach to Adolescent Identity Formation

Abstract

The research aimed to check if the construction of narrative identity by adolescents at risk of maladjustment contributes to their adaptive social functioning. It also aimed to identify factors related to identity on which the adjustment of adolescents at risk of social maladjustment depends. A natural experiment was conducted in Poland among youths from sociotherapy centres (n = 60, aged 18–20 years, 33 women and 27 men). A group of graduates at these centres (n = 31, aged 21–24 years, 17 women and 14 men) was included in the exploratory study and compared with the group of students in terms of maladjustment, ego-resiliency, and identity. The experiment shows that the construction of a narrative identity through a life story interview contributes to better social adaptation, which means a lower risk of maladjustment. The diffuse-avoidant identity style predisposes to maladjustment, whereas ego-resiliency is associated with a higher level of adjustment. Thus the narrative interview method can find application in the therapy of adolescents at risk of maladjustment.