A person’s life identity is made up of a combination of his or her thoughts on the future, preferences on who to be in future, talents to enable them to achieve their future goals, beliefs on the necessary systems to allow achievement of goals and behaviors that promote progress towards the future. The preference, thoughts behaviors, beliefs changes over time due to growth development, economic, social, political and financial aspects which also change over time (Marcia, 1980). According to Marcia, identity is based on occupation and ideology. A discussion on Talia struggles with her future is therefore based on her future preference beliefs and thoughts of her future profession as a teacher or a chef.
Her ideologies on financial matters such as the availability of funds to help her go through school and achieve her dreams cause a struggle for the future as her family experiences financial struggles (Marcia, 1993). Talia also beliefs incompleteness through family and relationship with both parents which leads to her feeling of insecurity due to her absent relationship with her father. Talia struggles also stems from her inability to make career decisions based on her ideology that it is demanded of her to have a feminine career such as being a teacher, a chef, or her previous study in cosmetology which give her access to various professions. Her indecision is triggered by financial lack as she might feel compelled to choose a career that will not put the strain on her family finances as opposed to following her real passion (Marcia, 1980).
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Talia struggles with her plans can be attributed to her lack of clear racial identity. Her biracial status and lack of proper knowledge of her Asian descent promote thoughts of insufficiency and incompleteness (Newman & Newman, 2009). The struggling financial phase on her family has put stress on the realization of her dreams to become a teacher or join the culinary school. Her identity crisis can also be attributed to her position in the school. At senior high her goals values and choices are being reevaluated, and she is required to make a decision and a commitment to her future. Her current occupation as a senior student puts the struggle on her determination on her future identity due to the instability at home (Kroger, 2007).
Talia struggles with her future is influenced by her culture and the desire for a firm cultural identity. According to Marcia’s theory, Talia is in the identity diffusion stage where she has no idea of who she is or what she wants to become. Talia has three career choices and inadequate knowledge of the Asian background. She lacks a strong opinion, has no strong desires or dreams for the future. She feels that her options are limited and therefore makes no attempt and is unwilling to commit to any plans. Cultural influence is seen in her career choices which are mainly feminine in nature (Marcia, 1993). Culture also dictates that for successful careers the family unit should be supportive and stable to provide guidance and emotional stability in her transition and final commitment to her career (Newman & Newman, 2009).
Being biracial with Asian descent culture expectation from society are high as it is demanded of her to attain the best education and a high-income career as has been portrayed by other biracial of the Asian descent (David, 2014). Culture also influences gender roles, and she is expected to fulfill her feminine role of raising a family through marriage and children which can also put stress on her future struggles on the best career that can allow her to become a successful parent and maintain a job at the same time.
Psychological interventions are required to help Talia resolve her current conflicts and improve her self-esteem. Talia can be able to make choices regarding her career and make commitments on her personal and social traits David, 2014). To promote her self-esteem, she should settle on one future career choice to either become a teacher, pursue cosmetology or join a culinary school. She is required to adopt a career that best suits her sexual orientation as a female to give room to the fulfillment of the other expectation of raising a family. Talia should develop a set of values and ideas to shape her identity as a biracial. She should stop focusing on her Asian side and strike a balance of between her Caucasian and Asian descent.
Setting values and ideals for herself will help eliminate cultural pressures on her as she will set her expectations and work towards fulfilling them as opposed to dependency on cultural expectations (David, 2014). Talia should also follow her vocational direction by assessing her desires and dreams and making a conscious effort to pursue them. She should define her strengths and her weakness including the financial struggles present in her family and decide to concentrate on the advantages which will make her whole and restore her self-esteem.
The Marcia theory of identity development applies to Talia case describing her identity diffusion and the required steps that will allow her to reach identity foreclosure, identity moratorium and later achieve identity achievement (David, 2014). Recognizing her identity will help her develop a sense of self-worth and help her establish a commitment to occupation and ideologies and make valuable decisions concerning her future with minimal reliance on culture, family or economic situation.
References
David L. (2014) " Identity Status Theory (Marcia)," in Learning Theories . Retrieved from https://www.learning-theories.com/identity-status-theory-marcia.html .
Kroger, J. (2007). Identity development: Adolescence through adulthood . Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Marcia, J. E. (1993). Ego identity: A handbook for psychosocial research . New York: Springer-Verlag.
Marcia, J. E. (1980). Identity in adolescence. Handbook of adolescent psychology, 9(11), 159-187
Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2009). Development through life: A psychosocial approach . Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
