Department of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N. Merion Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA, 19010, USA.
J Adolesc. 2019 Oct;76:162-172. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.08.014. Epub 2019 Sep 5.
Identity development is a convoluted process for youth experiencing traumatic interruptions in their lives. This study aimed to build a model of identity development in an understudied cultural group of trauma-exposed youth who fled North Korea and resettled in South Korea.
Sixteen participants (75% female, M = 26.63 years, M = 16.29 years, M = 5.72 years) produced life-course narratives, as guided by the life-lines they drew to depict their high and low points and future trajectories. The cross-sectional qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Themes of identity, trauma, and turning points were derived and coded, and then organized sequentially to classify stages of identity development.
The Vulnerable stage defined a sense of helplessness during an early life of deprivation in North Korea. Their identity entered the Invisible stage during their hiding in China. Upon reaching South Korea, they traversed four stages: The Renewal stage signaling a fresh outset; the Turmoil stage characterized by acculturative stress, rejection, and family disruption; the Achieved stage of relative stability; and the Self-Transcendence stage in which youth extended beyond their immediate views of self and focused on meaning and purpose across the themes of social change, reconciliation, and spirituality.
The six-stage model of identity development demonstrates that North Korean youth who defect to South Korea undergo a multifaceted identity development process as they navigate adversities, interruptions, and turning points. Results suggest that traumatic experiences can spur positive identity development and provide implications for professionals working with youth affected by intense and prolonged social conflict.
身份发展对于生活受到创伤性干扰的年轻人来说是一个复杂的过程。本研究旨在为经历过创伤、逃离朝鲜并在韩国重新定居的青年这一研究较少的文化群体构建一个身份发展模型。
16 名参与者（75%为女性，M=26.63 岁，M=16.29 岁，M=5.72 岁）根据他们绘制的生命线来描绘他们的高低点和未来轨迹，制作了人生历程叙述。使用主题内容分析对横断面定性数据进行分析。从身份、创伤和转折点主题中得出和编码主题，然后按顺序组织，以对身份发展阶段进行分类。
脆弱阶段定义了在朝鲜早期贫困生活中的无助感。他们的身份在躲藏在中国期间进入隐形阶段。到达韩国后，他们经历了四个阶段：复兴阶段标志着一个新的开始；动荡阶段的特点是文化适应压力、排斥和家庭破裂；相对稳定的实现阶段；以及自我超越阶段，在这个阶段，年轻人超越了自我的直接观点，关注社会变革、和解和精神等主题的意义和目的。
身份发展的六阶段模型表明，叛逃到韩国的朝鲜青年在经历逆境、中断和转折点时，会经历一个多方面的身份发展过程。结果表明，创伤经历可以激发积极的身份发展，并为专业人士与受强烈和持久社会冲突影响的青年合作提供启示。
