Few questions have been able to continue to intrigue human beings more than questions
surrounding the self and identity. Who am I? What am I? and What will I be? are some of the
enduring questions people ask themselves and others. While these questions preoccupy
almost all people at certain moments in their lives, they are particularly acute in
adolescence. The neo-Freudian psychoanalyst Erik Erikson (1959, 1968) coined
adolescence as the period that focuses on the search for identity. To form their identity …

This article reviews contemporary issues in the study of self and identity and introduces the
special issue. Particularly highlighted are the need to integrate the various currents in self
and identity, the need to study the role of context in the development of self and identity,
research on self and identity in ethnic minority and international populations, and studies of
national identity. The article concludes with recommendations for future research on self and
identity.