Who Am I? Adolescent Identity Formation and Mental Health

The term adolescence is regularly used to elucidate the transition stage between childhood and adulthood. This critical developmental period is consistently assumed as the years between the onset of puberty and the establishment of social independence (Steinberg, ). Adolescence is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the period of life between 10 to 19 years of age, covers many social and emotional transformations. Adolescence can be inferred as a weighstation in the process of "becoming" adult, a phase between the "apprenticeship" of childhood and complete social participation in adult life (Smiley, ). It is a period of physical and psychological development that is most closely linked with the teenage years, though it's physical, psychological and cultural appearance may

begin earlier and end later. Adolescence can be described biologically, as the physical changeover marked by the beginning of puberty and the completion of physical growth; cognitively, as changes in the capability to think abstractly and multi-dimensionally;

or socially, as a phase of readiness for adult roles and social relationships are redefined (Arnett, ). This transition between childhood and adulthood leads to swiftly changing behaviors, split between identity formation and role fulfillment (Lerner & Steinberg, ). Adolescence is predominantly distinguished by the quest for independence and identity formation (Caskey & Anfara, ).