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Challenges of Adolescent Psychology in the European Identity Context
Author(s) -
LannegrandWillems Lyda,
Barbot Baptiste
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
new directions for child and adolescent development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1534-8687
pISSN - 1520-3247
DOI - 10.1002/cad.20091
Subject(s) - sociocultural evolution , civic engagement , identity (music) , european union , context (archaeology) , diversity (politics) , identity formation , sociology , ethnic group , social psychology , psychology , gender studies , political science , self concept , politics , anthropology , geography , physics , archaeology , acoustics , law , business , economic policy
In Europe, the question of identity and youth civic engagement constitutes a challenge both for the European Union (EU) and for research on adolescent psychology. In this article, we discuss the European historical context and the current initiatives from the EU that aim to encourage civic engagement among young people. Then, we suggest some research directions in youth civic engagement and identity formation, which could contribute to the facilitation of the initiative drawn by the EU. These directions include (a) understanding the role and the dynamics of the sense of belonging to the different levels of social communities into sociocultural contexts (such as continental, national), and (b) the development of civic engagement during adolescence integrating the various components of civic engagement and identity formation processes. Finally, (c) the specificities of sociocultural contexts and the diversity of multifaceted identity with regard to cultural, social, and ethnic groups should be taken into account. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.