The Development of the Self

This study explores the individuation process, from a social-cognitive perspective, among kibbutz adolescents and youth. Individuation is defined as the separation of the self from the family. The individuation interview, Selman's self-awareness measure, and the Lunzer test were administered to 4th, 7th, and 10th grades, and to a post-high school group (N=61). Results confirmed age increases in individuation as follows: Late childhood subjects, consolidating on Level 1, exhibit identification with parental views while individual perspectives are secondary. Early adolescents, on Level 2, demonstrate increased self-awareness and the beginning of a decline of the parental view. Midadolescents, on Level 3, are characterized by the prominance of their self-system while the parental view becomes secondary. Late adolescents (young adults), on Level 4, show an ability to integrate the parental view within the self-system without loss of individuality. Furthermore, construct validation confirms the common as well as the discriminant qualities of the individuation sequence to self-awareness and Piagetian logical development. These results support the developmental sequence of the individuation construct in the kibbutz adolescent and fit the individuation model (Mazor, 1985) in a cross-cultural perspective.