An Examination of the Experiences of Traumatic Events and the Consequences of Identity Formation

The specific problem addressed in this qualitative, phenomenological research study was understanding the impact of traumatic events on the identity formation. There was a lack of studies on identity formation and trauma. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of young adults who might struggle with identity formation as a result of experiencing trauma during childhood or adolescence. This study was guided by Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development, which described how teenagers form their identity as they enter emerging adulthood. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 12 participants who indicated that they had experienced a minor traumatic event during childhood or adolescence; they were contacted to be interviewed using researcher-developed semistructured interviews. Thematic analyses were conducted following Giorgi’s method. Based on these analyses, there were five themes: intense changes in emotions, identity changing as a result of external support, coping in context while going through the trauma, negative consequences of a traumatic event, and interpersonal changes while dealing with the trauma. Additionally, there were 20 sub-themes. The implications for positive social change include understanding and promoting healthy adolescent identity development and resilience.