THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY AND MEANING DURING ADOLESCENCE

Paolo Gambini

ABSTRACT

This article delves into the correlation that exists between adolescents’

search for meaning and identity. Integrating the perspectives of general

psychology and social psychology, the study demonstrates that

adolescents face these two developmental tasks more implicitly than as

the result of personal reflection. The central idea lies in the fact that the

meanings one gives to reality—even before it is culturally interpreted—

are the fruit of what one directly experiences when coming into contact

with it.