Young People, Identity, Class, and the Family

Abstract

Identity is a crucial and wide-ranging concept and area in childhood and youth studies. Conceptual perspectives on identity differ across a range of disciplinary perspectives such as psychology and sociology. This chapter provides an overview of the current debates in regard to identity including differences between psychological and sociological approaches to conceptualizing identity. It discusses poststructural theories of powerPower and subjectivity that are important in more recent sociological discussions of identity. Poststructural theorists understand identity (subjectivity) as socially constructed and processual, highlighting social factors, rather than individual traits as important..