Frable D E
Women's Studies Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109, USA.
Annu Rev Psychol. 1997;48:139-62. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.139.
Identity is the individual's psychological relationship to particular social category systems. This chapter summarizes how people create and negotiate their gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities. Theories, methods, and priorities in each of these content areas differ. However, each systematically excludes particular research participants and thus ignores the complexity of people's multiple social identities. Research suggests that gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities are fluid, multidimensional, personalized social constructions that reflect the individual's current context and sociohistorical cohort. However, far too little empirical work captures the richly textured, theoretical conceptions of identity development, maintenance, and change. Innovative methods for assessing the content and structure of people's identities now exist. Future research should include groups other than young children or college students; should explore functions of identity other than just self-esteem, adjustment, or well-being; and should implement methodologies that are longitudinal and that assess people's many social identities.
身份认同是个体与特定社会类别系统的心理关系。本章总结了人们如何塑造和协商他们的性别、种族、民族、性取向和阶级身份认同。这些内容领域中的每一个的理论、方法和重点都有所不同。然而，每一个都系统性地排除了特定的研究参与者，从而忽视了人们多重社会身份认同的复杂性。研究表明，性别、种族、民族、性取向和阶级身份认同是流动的、多维度的、个性化的社会建构，反映了个体当前的背景和社会历史群体。然而，实证研究工作远远不足以捕捉身份认同发展、维持和变化的丰富理论概念。现在已经有了评估人们身份认同的内容和结构的创新方法。未来的研究应该纳入幼儿或大学生以外的群体；应该探索除自尊、适应或幸福感之外的身份认同功能；并且应该采用纵向研究方法，评估人们的多种社会身份认同。
