Who are you and why? Developmental tasks and their catalyst function for

emerging identities in Germany

Meike Watzlawik, Technical University of Braunschweig

Aristi Born, Evangelische Hochschule Berlin

Germany: An Introduction

Located in Central Europe, Germany, or the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik

Deutschland), is a parliamentary and representative democratic republic, with Berlin as its capital

city. It is a founding member of the European Community, a member of numerous multilateral

organizations, and a NATO alliance partner.

Approximately 82 million people live on 357,104 km² that are divided into 16 states

(Bundesländer). Of the Germans, 61.8% are Christians (Catholics 31.0%, Protestants 30.8%), 3.9%

are Muslims, and 1.8% belong to other religions. A total of 32.5% have no church affiliation

(Federal Foreign Office, 2011). With only 8.3 newborns per 1000 inhabitants in 2010, Germany has

the lowest crude birth rate in the European Union (Marcu, 2011). In 2030, Germany is projected to

have 77 million inhabitants, a reduction of 5.7% compared with the number of inhabitants in 2008

(Federal Statistical Office, 2011). This population decline goes hand in hand with a structural

demographic change that is most intensive for people younger than 20. In 2030, demographers

expect 17% fewer children and adolescents in Germany than there are today. The number of adults

between 20 and 65 years old who are capable of employment will decrease by approximately 15%.

Conversely, the age group 65 years and older will increase by about a third, from 16.7 million in

2008 to 22.3 million in 2030. By then, 34.4% of German inhabitants will be older than 65 years and

only 17.1% will be younger than 20 years. In the World Factbook of the US Central Intelligence

Agency (CIA, 2011) these developments are summarized as follows:

“The German economy – the fifth largest economy in the world in PPP [purchasing power

parity] terms and Europe’s largest – is a leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and

household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force. Like its Western European

neighbors, Germany faces significant demographic challenges to sustained long-term growth.

Low fertility rates and declining net immigration are increasing pressure on the country’s social

welfare system and necessitate structural reforms. The modernization and integration of the

Eastern German economy – where unemployment can exceed 20% in some municipalities –

continues to be a costly long-term process […].” (CIA, 2011)

Germany’s adolescents had not yet been born when the Berlin Wall fell. For most of them, the

reunion of Eastern and Western Germany has turned into a positive historical event

(Bundesstiftung Aufarbeitung, 2010). Nevertheless, differences between East and West Germany

are still an issue with respect to unemployment rates (13.5% in the East vs. 7.4% in the West;

Federal Jobs Employment Agency, 2010), voting behavior, income, divorce/marriage, and

migrant population (Federal Statistical Office, 2010), usually with fewer migrants in the East. In

United Germany, the major ethnic groups are Germans (91.5%), Turks (2.4%), and other

ethnicities (6.1%), including Greeks, Italians, Poles, Russians, Serbo-Croatians, and Spaniards

(Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). When comparing individuals with and without migration

backgrounds, the following age structures can be found (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Age structure of individuals with and without migration backgrounds in Germany; data is based on the sample census 2005 (Federal Institute for Population Research, 2008, p. 21)

Individuals with migration backgrounds are – on average – significantly younger than

individuals without migration backgrounds (33.8 vs. 44.9 years; Federal Institute for Population

Research, 2008, p. 21). The younger generations are, thus, more diverse than the older

generations, leading to different developmental challenges. But what are these challenges

German adolescents are faced with today? In the following two paragraphs, we will first give an

overview of typical developmental tasks that German adolescents and emerging adults have to

solve nowadays. Then, we will introduce selected tasks and identity facets in a more detailed

manner.

Major developmental tasks in adolescence

Whereas Erik H. Erikson (1966) considered “Identity vs. Identity Diffusion” as the major crisis

of adolescence, in defining crises for the different developmental stages, Robert J. Havighurst

(1956) spoke of developmental tasks that normatively needed to be solved at different times in

an individual’s life. In 1948, he conceptualized developmental tasks for different age periods and

proclaimed that successful achievement of these tasks leads to happiness, societal approval, and

success later in life (Havighurst, 1948/1981). But are these tasks still significant for positive

psychological functioning more than 60 years later, and may they be transferred from the United

States to Germany? The answer seems to be yes; and in fact, experts including social scientist

Klaus Hurrelmann (2007) still speak of central developmental tasks for German adolescents.

This is how Hurrelmann elaborates on the traditional concepts:

1. Development of intellectual and social competence so that educational and occupational

challenges can be solved autonomously. This developmental task is solved successfully when

adolescents are financially independent.

2. Accepting the physical changes one goes through during puberty and establishing close and

intimate relationships to peers of the same and/or opposite sex. This developmental task is

solved successfully when adolescents feel comfortable with their gender as well as their sexual

identities, and have founded long-lasting relationships (e.g., families).

3. Developing self-reliant action paradigms for using commercial offerings of the society

they live in. This includes the media and the ability to deal with money. This developmental task

is solved successfully when the adolescents have come to a self-controlled life style that is in

tune with their needs.

4. Developing individual standards and values as well as an ethical and political awareness

that are in agreement with adolescents’ own actions and behavior. This developmental task is

solved successfully when the adolescents are able to take over cultural and political

responsibilities within the community.

Obviously, different themes and tasks are subsumed among the same categories. Dreher and

Dreher (1997) differentiate further among the following tasks:

(A) establishing peer relationships;

(B) accepting physical changes;

(C) showing behavior that supports one’s gender role;

(D) establishing intimate relationships to a boyfriend or girlfriend;

(E) becoming autonomous from parents;

(F) deciding on a professional career;

(G) developing expectations about founding a family and living in a partnership;

(H) getting to know oneself and finding out more about how others view oneself;

(I) developing an individual life philosophy (values, principles, etc.);

(J) developing a perspective for the future and deciding on goals one wants to reach.

Again, the different tasks overlap conceptually. If, for example, an adolescent decides on a certain

career, future goals can be involved. Getting to know oneself and finding out how others view

oneself is always a part of establishing close relationships. We would go as far as to say that (H) is

the basic question of identity development, one that should be seen as an overarching

developmental task for which all others aspects provide important information (identity facets, see

paragraph XX). Nevertheless, in discussions with 15-to-18-year-old adolescents as well as with

researchers, the above list represented the consensus of important developmental tasks during

adolescence (Dreher & Dreher, 1985). Dreher and Dreher (1985, 1997) asked the adolescents to

evaluate the importance of these tasks in 1985 and, again, in 1997. While in 1985 deciding on a

professional career and getting to know oneself were the most important tasks for boys and girls,

establishing peer relationships (boys) and establishing intimate relationships (girls) were considered

most important in 1997, followed by deciding on professional careers. Getting to know oneself

drops from the second position in 1985 to rank 4 for boys and rank 6 for girls in 1997, reflecting

that occupations are still a central criterion for self-definition in Germany – even more important

than getting to know oneself.

Another interesting finding of Dreher and Dreher was that in 1997, compared to 1985, fewer

significant differences between boys and girls were found. Whereas girls assigned more importance

to developing an individual life philosophy, accepting physical changes, and becoming autonomous

from parents, and less importance to intimate relationships and gender roles than boys in 1985, only

two significant differences between boys and girls remained in 1997, showing that boys and girls

had become more similar in their evaluations of developmental challenges. Girls consider the

acceptance of physical changes more important and gender role development less important than

boys.

Major developmental tasks in emerging adulthood: Old and new challenges

While Dreher and Dreher interviewed adolescents, Born and Krause (2007) examined 157 emerging

adults (35% students, 20% pupils, 45% trainees or professionals) between 17 and 24 years old (M =

20.4; SD = 2.1) in East German driving schools (Saxony–Anhalt) to determine the most important

developmental tasks in their actual lives. In addition to defining developmental tasks, the emerging

adults were also asked to evaluate the degree of current relevance and their coping with the tasks at

present (in %). Born and Krause offered the ten developmental tasks (A) to (J) for adolescents as

defined by Dreher and Dreher (1997) (see page XX), and the eight developmental tasks Havighurst

(1981/1948) specified for 18-to-30-year-old emerging adults:

(A) getting established in an occupation;

(B) finding a congenial social group;

(C) selecting a mate;

(D) learning to live with a steady partner;

(E) managing a home;

(F) taking on civic responsibilities;

(G) starting a family;

(H) rearing children.

This alphabetic sequence reflects the rank order as to what degree the emerging adults of the sample

already had coped with the tasks. The traditional, family-related tasks were least important and

coped with. This goes along with the following statistical data: German females leave their parental

home when they are on average 23.9 years old, their male age-mates when they are 25.1 years old

(Marcu, 2011). In 2003 (Gender Data Report edited by the German Youth Institute, 2005), women

married – on average – 32-year-old men when they were 29 years old, and women were 29.4 years

of age when their first child was born.

The three most significant developmental tasks dealt with occupation and career orientation

(selecting and preparing for an occupation and an economic career as well as getting established in

an occupation). Developmental tasks for adolescents were still important for emerging adults,

although these tasks were also ranked high in terms of coping. Other than the career establishment

task (total relevance rank 3, total coping rank 8) for emerging adults, the first eight most important

and also best-coped-with tasks were taken from among the adolescents’ tasks. The task “Finding

out who you are” was ranked 8 in relevance, and emerging adults already coped with that task on an

average of 63.3% (SD = 23.5%, coping rank 7). In a path model, this study showed that self-esteem

measured with the Multidimensional Self-Esteem Scale by Schütz and Sellin (2006) was a positive

predictor for the total degree of coping with the developmental tasks and well-being.

In another study, Born (2003) asked 201 emerging adults if there were developmental tasks not

mentioned by Havighurst but still important for the 18-to-30-year-olds. Their answers were

summarized in three categories: achieving financial independence, testing one´s intellectual and

vocational limits, and exploring different ways of life. For students as well as for non-students, the

most important tasks were:

1. getting along with studies and/or vocation;

2. learning to live with an intimate partner;

3. gaining more autonomy from parents (with a stronger emphasis on financial independence by

the students).

Least important for students and non-students were the traditional developmental tasks “starting a

family” and “rearing children.” With regard to the self-assessed degree to which they had already

coped with the developmental tasks, there were significant differences between students and non-

students: Non-students reported higher degrees of coping with the tasks “choosing a steady

partner,” “financial independence,” and “testing one’s vocational limits” than students. Students had

a higher degree of coping with the tasks “finding a congenial social group” and “social-political

engagement” than non-students.

Measured with the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ; Balistreri, Busch-Rossnagel, &

Geisinger, 1995), students had significantly higher exploration means than non-students, and non-

students reported significantly higher commitment than students of the same age. For these non-

students, commitment had positive effects on their degree of coping with six different

developmental tasks and on their mental health. Non-students reported a more positive well-being

than their age-mates at universities. A total of 61.9% of the students and 50% of the non-students in

the age-period between 18 and 25 answered the question, “Do you feel that you have reached

adulthood?” with “Yes and No.” As Arnett (2000) specified for the US culture, many twenty-

somethings in Germany are also in an extended state of adolescence and (subjectively) may not

become full adults until they reach their mid-20s or even later. Participants who felt that they had

already reached adulthood had a higher degree of coping with respect to the task “finding out who

you are” (d = .41; p < .05) and were more established in a career (d = .69; p < .001) than their

ambivalent peers (Born & Krause, 2007).

For Havighurst (1948/1981), selection and preparation for an occupation as well as the formation of

a socio-politico-ethical ideology were the underlying processes of identity achievement. It is

possible that identity achievement is no longer essential for understanding the identity issues

adolescents have been faced with since the end of the last millennium. At the beginning of the 21st

Century, young people in Germany do not view general identity formation as one of the top relevant

developmental tasks, and this is true for both adolescents and emerging adults. Erikson (1966)

focuses on identity diffusion as the opposite pole of a successful identity development, but under

the variable social and cultural conditions in emerging adulthood – especially the renunciation of

clear societal norms and orientations – diffusion can also be seen as functional. New opportunities

are easier to seize if commitments are loose and the exploration engagement stays flexible

(Krappmann, 1997).

Identity structure and developmental processes

While commitment and exploration are often used as variables to capture developmental processes

(Marcia, 1966), they are usually examined for different life domains; for example, the field of study,

school, or occupation in general, friendships, or gender roles (e.g., Meeus, 1996; Watzlawik, 2007).

Two different concepts are combined here: structure and process. While identity structure reflects

the different domains or facets that an individual uses (or that are used by others) to define him- or

herself (“Me as friend, psychologist, German, etc.”), identity development processes describe how

an individual arrives or does not arrive at this structure. To determine identity structure, we must

ask questions such as: “What does it mean to you to be a woman?”, “How did you arrive at the

conclusion that you are a friend?”, or “How did a certain event influence your self-definition as a

woman or friend?” The answers to these questions are always connected to positioning oneself in

time (Who am I, who have I been, and who do I want to become?), and to changing societal frame

conditions, such as the growing demands of mobility, that influence individual pathways (e.g.,

Keupp, 1997). Today, as mentioned above, individuals might adapt to the changing demands of

their environment more quickly when commitments are loose or perhaps non-existent. But is it

really possible to be “well-diffused” in terms of identity? By the second half of the 1980s, Marcia

(1989) had already noticed a dramatic increase of identity diffusion among students. He suggested

splitting identity diffusion into four subgroups: disturbed, carefree, developmental, and culturally

adaptive diffusion. Kraus and Mitzscherlich (1995) observed similar identity types in Germany

using a discursive analytical approach based on semi-structured interviews with a total of 160

young adults, 18 to 22 years old, in Saxony (Eastern Germany) and Bavaria (Western Germany).

Born (2007) formulated a questionnaire to differentiate between the four subgroups of identity

diffusion, and studied their correlations with subjective well-being and the personal resources “self-

efficacy” and “self-esteem.” Items were constructed for the two relevant domains of emerging

adults: studies/work and friendship. The results showed evidence for differentiating between the

four subgroups of identity diffusion, but did not prove the general functionality of a diffuse identity

status in emerging adulthood. As expected, there were strong negative correlations between

disturbed diffusion, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and well-being for both domains. Disturbed diffusion

comes closest to identity diffusion as defined by Erikson (1966). Developmental diffusion showed

negative correlations as well. The emerging adults examined were probably on their way to

achieving identity, which was not comfortable for them at the moment. It would have been

interesting to follow this subgroup longitudinally. Carefree diffusion was positively correlated with

self-efficacy, self-esteem, and well-being, but only in the domain of friendship. It was probably

adaptive for the social-life domain of emerging adults, who were still ambivalent. They explored

their potential for emotional and physical intimacy, but still avoided strong commitments such as

marriage and the responsibility of parenthood. Yet carefree diffusion was not adaptive with regard

to subjective well-being for the studies/work life domain. Emerging adults seemed to be open to

new social opportunities, but they also cared about education and a good job. The higher scale

means for carefree diffusion in both life domains for men confirmed the results of Kraus and

Mitzscherlich (1995), who found that the carefree surfer in a sea of possibilities was in most cases

male. Culturally adaptive diffusion showed that diffusion can be functional and adaptive in

emerging adulthood, at least for the domain of studies/work. According to Kraus and Mitzscherlich,

culturally adaptive diffusion was higher for men than for women, and higher for single persons than

for participants who were living with a partner and could not jump independently at the first

opportunity.

Coming back to the question of whether German adolescents and emerging adults can be “well-

diffused,” the answer is yes. They can be diffused “carefree” in the life-domain friendship and feel

good about it, which would seem to be more difficult in the life-domain studies/work. With regard

to studies and vocation, it seems more functional to be diffuse in a culturally adaptive way. This

means the emerging adults chose loose commitments and weak explorations based on adaptivity to

the demands of mobility and flexibility. Reasons for these findings are discussed in the following

paragraph.

Occupational identity: Changing demands

Looking at the developmental tasks of adolescence and emerging adulthood as discussed above,

choosing and managing career paths are major challenges for these age groups. The latest

discussions in Germany show that the developmental task of deciding on a professional career, in

particular, reflects recent changes. In the German school system, adolescents may attain three

educational levels: Hauptschule (9 years of school), Realschule (10 years of school), and

Gymnasium. The Gymnasium used to be 13 years of schooling, but was changed to 12 years

without reducing the work load for the students. The argument for this change was that in many

(European) countries, 12 years of schooling seems sufficient to prepare the adolescents for – among

other things – their future careers. Arguments against this change include the following:

Adolescents’ cognitive development might peak at the age of 12 to 13, but is often not terminated

until the age of 21. In particular, the prefrontal lobe, which is responsible for considering

consequences and making rational decisions, develops last (Weinberger, Elvevåg, & Giedd, 2005).

The task of deciding on one’s occupation and preparing for it has become more complex than it was

100 or even 50 years ago. Adolescents are faced with less distinctiveness and more diversity and

heterogeneity in the vocational field. The vocational field thus cannot be used as a clear means of

identity achievement. Adolescents can no longer follow the concrete guidelines to adulthood that

past generations took for granted. A lot of them will choose jobs their parents did not even know

about, or they will work in multiple part-time jobs and create their own specific and flexible

portfolio careers. Best prepared for this career market in Germany are those individuals who have

efficient self-management techniques, are flexible, and are able to find the information needed for

deciding autonomously. While this is already difficult for adolescents who are looking for an

apprenticeship, it is even more difficult for adolescents or young adults who are looking for the

right course of study. Based on the Bologna Accords, a declaration signed in Bologna, Italy by 29

European countries in 1999, a European Higher Education Area was supposed to be created as of

2010. Its goal was to establish academic degree standards, and to make quality assurance standards

more comparable and compatible throughout Europe. As of this writing, 80% of all traditional

degrees in Germany (Diploma, Magister, etc.) have been changed to Bachelor’s and Master’s

Degrees. These constitute more than 11,500 programs of study. The remaining 20% are mostly

those programs that finish with a state examination (Staatsexamen), such as medicine or law

(German Federal Labor Market Authority, 2010). Subsequent to the Bologna Accords, all colleges

and universities in Germany were asked to create their own profiles by establishing specialized

degrees – which they did. The effect was that finding the right career within the manifold

opportunities now presented has become even more difficult. The bachelor teaching programs, for

example, are now often specialized for working with certain target groups (children, adults, etc.),

which does not allow individuals to experiment with what fits them best. Internships might be a

solution, depending on how they are timed during the school year. Another question must be

answered: When can adolescents find out what they want to become later? Career counseling, when

offered in German schools, tends to be very brief. Career guidance counseling as offered in the

United States can hardly be found; and once you have decided on a career path, it is set unless you

quit, as many students have done in the past. During the years 2002 to 2006, about one fourth of all

German students left their programs of study without degrees; most of them started over, while

others did not. 18% of those who dropped out stated that they could no longer identify themselves

with their former vocational choice. But the most frequently given reasons for quitting school,

among 31% of all students, were performance problems (Federal Ministry of Education and

Research, 2010).

Since the universities introduced Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees, student dropout rates have

changed – not for the better. In 2000, during the era of the old degrees (Diploma, Magister, etc.),

students quit their programs on average after 7.6 semesters. In study programs with a Bachelor’s

degree, students break off on average after 2.6 semesters (Heublein, Hutzsch, Schreiber, Sommer, &

Besuch, 2010). In Bachelor’s programs, 30% of the students abandon their studies. These alarming

results stress the importance of taking a closer look at the transition to college life in emerging

adulthood. Overall, this transition is a normative critical life event for emerging adults who have

access to higher education, and a prolonged period of education is becoming more prevalent in

Germany. This can be illustrated by the increasing numbers of newly enrolled college freshmen.

The percentage of young adults from the same age cohort who have just started their academic

studies rose from 35.7% in 2006 to 46.1% in 2010 (Federal Statistical Office [Germany], 2011).1

Today nearly half of Germany’s young adults are faced with the transition to college, which

includes massive changes in their living conditions and day-to-day routines. For many freshmen,

this change is accompanied by social and location transitions, especially if they move away from

home. Some freshmen start with “sunlit steps” and face new tasks as challenges, while others feel

they are “stumbling in the dark” (Smith, 2002) towards an insecure future. Compared to other life

domains, 200 students at the West German University of Bielefeld (North Rhine–Westphalia)

blamed most of the stress in their lives on their academic studies (Stock & Kramer, 2000). In 2008,

Born, Crackau, and Thomas asked 157 freshmen ages 18 to 24 about their transition to college life

at the East German University of Magdeburg (Saxony–Anhalt). These students identified the highly

selective environment and competitive pressures, demanding study programs, dissatisfaction with

their personal way of working, lack of money, and insufficient leisure time as the most constraining

stumbling blocks on their first lap through the university. This study aimed at a salutogenetic view

in discovering positive effects on the freshmen’s subjective well-being, by focusing on

Antonovsky’s sense of coherence (SOC; Antonovsky, 1981) and following the transactional stress

theory of Lazarus (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987). Structural analyses showed that SOC, with its three

components (comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness) was a direct positive predictor

with regards to positive appraisal, problem-oriented coping, and well-being. Born and Ballerstein

(2011) examined another resource for improving the freshmen’s well-being. Their online study of

360 students from different regions of Germany, all engaged in a steady partnership, and studying

in their second semester, showed positive effects for dyadic coping, which is how couples cope with

1Due to the demographic development in Germany (see “Germany: An Introduction” at the head of this chapter), the absolute number of freshmen is expected to decrease as of 2020.

stressful tasks (Bodenmann, 2000). Especially for females, dyadic coping had positive effects on the

habitual subjective well-being, life-satisfaction, and study performance.

One thing these findings stress is the importance of intimate partnerships. That is why we will take

a closer look at the developmental task of establishing intimate relationships, and along with this,

the facet of sexual identity.

Sexual and gender identity: What is the difference?

In English, the terms sex and gender describe two aspects of gender identity. While sex refers to the

biological sex (male/female) of an individual, gender refers to the psychological consequences

(masculinity/femininity) or gender roles a person is taking on. The biological sex can correspond

with a person’s gender identity, but does not necessarily have to. Transgender and transsexual

identities are discussed more openly nowadays than they were only decades ago (e.g., Sobiech &

Watzlawik, 2009), although more educational work is needed to reduce prejudice and

discrimination. Schools rarely address these issues of identity, so that information is usually spread

with the help of TV, or, even more importantly, the Internet. (An interesting German site that

informs about transgender and transsexual identities can be found at www.seitenwechsel-online.de.)

In German, sex and gender should both be translated as Geschlecht. To clarify just what is being

discussed, the terms “biological” (sex) and “psychological” (gender) must be added to Geschlecht.

The German word Sex does not refer to the two aspects of gender identity, but to sexuality and

sexual behavior. While gender identity describes self-definition as man or woman (or neither of the

two) and the behaviors that underline these categorizations, sexual identity addresses the

developmental task of becoming aware of one’s sexual feelings, and first acting on them in intimate

partnerships during adolescence.

Even though all identity facets can be considered as developing and changing throughout the

lifespan, there are developmental stages where some facets become more prevalent than others.

Gender identity, learning about gender categories, gender role stereotypes (for a critical

consideration of the concepts of masculinity and femininity, see Watzlawik, 2009), choosing what

gender one identifies with, etc., is already a major task addressed during childhood (cp. Trautner,

2008). In adolescence, physical changes and a growing interest in the other and/or the same sex as

triggered by sexual maturation again challenge and change an individual’s gender identity. What do

these changes mean for self-definition as man, woman, or transgendered? For adolescent girls,

dissatisfaction with their bodies may be attributed to the female ideal of beauty, to a greater extent

than boys’ dissatisfaction is linked to the masculine ideal (Watzlawik, 2008). Yet adolescent boys

value gender-role corresponding behavior more highly than girls do. It is more important for these

boys that they generally fulfill what is societally and stereotypically expected for men; girls do not

value this developmental task nearly as much as boys do.

While becoming aware of one’s sexual feelings towards the other or the same sex might influence

gender identity, it has to be considered a separate developmental task. Sexual orientation is one

major aspect of an individual’s sexual identity, referring to desired and actual sexual behavior and

feelings. Homosexual and bisexual teens do not change their core gender identity when they

become aware of their feelings and desires, but gender role stereotypes also include expectations

concerning an individual’s sexual orientation. In heteronormative societies – and Germany, even

considering growing tolerance and acceptance, can still be seen as such – it is usually expected that

women be sexually and emotionally attracted to men and vice versa. Nevertheless, other non-

normative sexual orientations can be found in every society, even if the information about

frequencies varies widely. In Germany, usually 5% to 10% of the population is considered to be

homosexual or bisexual (cp. Hurrelmann, 2007). Variations can be explained by the questions asked

in these surveys, and, of course, by the populations examined. Klein’s Sexual Orientation Grid is

rarely used to “measure” an individual’s sexual orientation, even if it is one of the rare models that

reflect the construct’s complexity. Klein, Sepekoff, and Wolf (1985) differentiate between sexual

attraction, sexual behavior, sexual fantasies, emotional preference, social preference, self-

identification, and heterosexual/homosexual lifestyle. In surveys, only one of these seven aspects is

usually used to assess sexual orientation.

Sexual identity thus includes the multifaceted concept of sexual orientation(s). The developmental

task is to become aware of and accept one’s sexual orientation. In addition to this, sexual identity

also involves the development of values that allow for responsible sexual behavior: responsible

with regard to one’s own needs and, of course, in regard to the needs of sexual partners (Watzlawik,

2004). Sexual behavior, as well as sexual orientation, always includes choices about emotional

preferences as well (“Do I have sex with someone I love or is being in love not part of my sexual

experiences – or can both be part of my life?”). With these questions, it becomes clear that sexual

identities are often experienced and explored within intimate relationships.

In fact, Dreher and Dreher (1985/1997) included “intimate relationships” as an independent task,

not subsumed under “peer relationships,” after interviewing adolescents in 1985. This task even

gained importance in the 1997 study, especially for female adolescents, increasing from 74% to

76% for the boys and from 49% to 81% for the girls. These results suggest that intimate partnership

and sexual attraction became more preeminent for boys and girls in the last days of the 20th century.

Peers offer the social laboratory for experimentation and exploration as well as the conventions for

the externals of life, such as hairstyle, fashions, and music (Havighurst, 1948/1981). In contrast,

partnerships help one to explore and negotiate individualistic beliefs in a more intimate frame.

In Germany, many heterosexual adolescents experience their first sexual intercourse at the age of 16

(see Table 1).

Table 1: Results of a survey conducted by the Federal Center for Health Education (2010, p. 121), interviewing 17-year-old, sexually experienced adolescents

%

Girls Boys

First sexual intercourse

at the age of …

German Migration

Background

German Migration

Background

13 or younger 4 4 8 11

14 19 12 8 14

15 25 22 27 26

16 39 51 42 37

17 13 12 15 12

Adolescent girls with migration backgrounds wait longer, on average, to have sex than girls without

migration backgrounds. Boys with migration backgrounds wait, on average, for a shorter time than

boys without migration backgrounds. These results are based on a representative study by the

Federal Center for Health Education (2010), for which 3,542 adolescents, 14 to 17 years old, were

interviewed. For the above-presented results, the data from all 17-year-old participants who already

had experienced their first sexual intercourse was analyzed. Of the girls with no migration

background, 34% were not yet sexually experienced at age 17, compared to 47% of the girls with

migration backgrounds. Of the boys, 35% with no migration background were inexperienced, while

only 28% of boys with migration backgrounds indicated the same.

While heterosexual girls with migration backgrounds seem to take the longest to become sexually

active, homosexual adolescents probably take the longest to act on their feelings. Biechele,

Reisbeck, and Keupp (2001) conducted an online study with gay adolescents and came to the

conclusion that these adolescents fall in love about 1.5 years later than their heterosexual peers, and

that experiencing the first intimate partnership takes as much as 2.5 years longer. The first sexual

experiences, often with a partner of the opposite sex, are made approximately at the same age as

those of their heterosexual peers (Biechele, Reisbeck, & Keupp, 2001; Barber, 2000).

Becoming aware of sexual and emotional attraction towards persons of the same sex still is

shocking or confusing to most German adolescents (Watzlawik, 2004). Before even thinking of

acting upon their feelings, these adolescents have to accept their being different from others. Many

deny or suppress their feelings at first, which explains why some engage in opposite-sex

experiences without being in love. The often-experienced desperation and fear of discrimination is

underlined by the high rates of (attempted) suicide in homosexual and bisexual samples; rates are

approximately 5 to 10 times higher than in heterosexual samples (Plöderl, 2005). Homosexual and

bisexual adolescents have to explore their sexual orientations, and commitments take time and

effort. Former self-constructs, including who one was and who one wanted to become, are

questioned and have to be re-organized (Watzlawik, Schachter, & Cunha, in press). While most

heterosexual adolescents do not question their sexual orientation, and thus can proceed with solving

the developmental task of “establishing intimate relationships,” homosexual and bisexual

adolescents are faced with a rupture of the expected developmental path (cp. “rupture-transitions”;

Zittoun, 2006). Active exploration is needed to manage this transition, before normative

developmental tasks can be faced.

Watzlawik (2004) examined the resources and obstacles for managing these transitions. An online

study of 809 German adolescents revealed that the better integrated adolescents were in their group

of peers, the more likely it was that they evaluated their homosexual or bisexual orientation in a

positive manner. Negative evaluations became significantly more likely when sexuality was a taboo

subject within the adolescents’ families. The Internet was a helpful medium for finding information

on sexual orientation, the gay and lesbian subculture, coming-out groups, etc., for many

adolescents. Again, sexual education and openness to diversity seems to facilitate positive

development among adolescents. Including information about sexual orientation in schools seems to

be a necessary step towards non-discriminative developmental environments. Suggestions for how

this can be done have been made available by, for example, the European Union and different

national ministries:2 With the slogan Different in more ways than one. Providing guidance for

teenagers on their way to identity, sexuality, and respect, they support countries in educating

adolescents about diversity, including sexual orientation, by providing educational material and

general information.

While peers are usually the first confidants that homosexual or bisexually oriented adolescents

choose when they want to talk about their feelings (Watzlawik, 2004), parents have become more

important for talking about general sex-related questions. In 1980, only 28% of adolescent boys said

that they could talk about sex and sex-related questions with their parents. In 2010, 62% of the boys

(and 67% of the girls) said that they consider their parents to be confidants for these questions. In

general, most German parents feel responsible for the sexual education of their children: 78% of

adolescent girls and 67% of the boys say that they got information about sexuality from their

parents. Nowadays, this education takes place step-by-step and as age appropriate, not, as was

common in the past, through a major “serious one-on-one talk between parent and child” (Federal

Center for Health Education, 2010).

2See http://www.diversity-in-europe.org for more information.

Adolescents from families with migration backgrounds name their parents less frequently as

confidants for sex-related questions (48% of the girls and 33% of the boys). Often, religious beliefs

hinder mainly Muslim parents from talking openly about these subjects. Nevertheless, most

adolescents for whom sexual education in schools is the most frequently named source of

information feel sexually well educated (80% of the Germans, and 67–72% of the adolescents with

migration backgrounds; Federal Center for Health Education, 2010). That this school education,

which includes contraception, is quite successful is supported by the low teenage pregnancy rates of

German adolescents (cp. Schmidt et al., 2006; Matthiesen, 2011) when compared to those of

countries that do not provide widely available and early sexual education, such as the United States

(Guttmacher Institute, 2010). Since there are still countries, like the Netherlands, with even lower

teenage pregnancy rates than Germany, there still seems to be room for improvement.

Intimate partners and objects as symbolic identity markers in emerging adulthood

Intimate relationships are still very important in emerging adulthood, because they help to construct

meaning when societal attention and assistance are rare. Not only persons, but also elements of the

physical environment, can become essential to people’s self-definitions and may have mediating

functions in identity development (Fuhrer, 2004):

• On the one hand, individuals interpret their environments and co-construct meanings with

their social partners to develop their identities.

• On the other hand, individuals shape, create, and re-construct their environments in unique

ways and express their identities in this way.

Born and Crackau (2007) undertook an empirical approach to assess self-representational meanings

mediated by people, as well as by things and places. This study indicates that people as well as

things and places can mediate self-representative functions and become resource providers for

coping with critical life events such as the transition to university life. In accordance with Ziller’s

method, known as autophotography (Ziller, 1990) the researchers asked 157 freshmen from the

University of Magdeburg (Saxony–Anhalt) the following question: “Imagine that you must tell

somebody who you are. You can neither talk nor write to that other person, but you can take

pictures and present yourself with four photographs that tell something about who you are. Which

people, but also things and places, would be in these photographs?” First-year students chose almost

as many places (25% of the 550 fictive photographs) and things (21%) for symbolic representatives

as they did people (48%).3 Favorite persons in the photographs were family members, friends, and

the intimate partner. The most popular “things” were means of transportation, computers, phones,

and sports equipment. The most frequently chosen places were one’s own room, one’s hometown,

the parental home, or nature. People were more meaningful as touchstones of consistency (without

them, one would feel like a different person), self-reflection (they help one to reflect on oneself),

and individuality (with them one can distinguish oneself from others) than things and places. Things

and places were more meaningful for efficacy (they help to test one’s skills), continuity (they help

to remember how a person used to be), and integration (they give the certainty that a person fits in

with others) than people. Stepwise regression analyses for appraisal, coping, and well-being showed

that continuity mediated by things and places was a positive predictor for positive situational

appraisal and for problem-oriented coping. Consistency mediated by people, and integration

mediated by things and places were positive predictors for problem-oriented coping as well.

Furthermore, consistency mediated by people predicted well-being. Females gave people a higher 3Other “objects,” such as animals or events, appeared in 6% of the photographs.

consistency meaning than males; for males, things and places had a stronger efficacy meaning. The

meaning-making functions of things and places with regard to continuity and consistency are very

high for relocated students, probably because they serve as transitional objects.

Social and virtual identities: The influences of Facebook & Co.

Along with physical objects and people, virtual realities offer a new stage for identity development.

Matthiesen’s speech in Beirut (2011) refers to the “Internet Generation in Germany” in discussing

today’s adolescents. In fact, today 98% of all German adolescents are online (BITKOM, 2011a).

The essential point made by a representative study questioning 10-to-18-year-old adolescents in

Germany was as follows: “Today, children and adolescents between 10 and 18 years of age possess

cell phones just as frequently as they possess bikes; computers are even more frequently owned than

soccer balls” (BITKOM, 2011a, p. 6). The most favorite spare time activity for the 13-to-18-year-

olds is meeting friends (68%), followed by surfing the World Wide Web (39%). Only the 10-to-12-

year-olds consider TV, sports, and spending time with family more important than surfing the

Internet. The favorite activities when online are searching for information (76%), watching videos

(73%), chatting with friends (65%), and listening to music (63%) (BITKOM, 2011a). Social media

in particular are becoming more and more popular in Germany: 96% of all 14- to-29-year-olds are

members of a social network site, while 94% say that they actively use these sites (BITKOM,

2011b). Currently 25.5% of the German population is using Facebook (Socialbakers, 2011), making

a total of 20,951,460 users. Of these, 17% are younger than 18, and 27% are between 18 and 24

years old. In the year between December 2009 and December 2010, the number of 13-to-24-year-

old users nearly tripled, going from 2.4 to 6.2 million.

Most 14-to-29-year-olds use social media websites to stay in touch with friends (88%), to arrange to

meet friends (73%) and to meet new people (38%) (BITKOM, 2011b). Using online social

networks is thus an integral part of adolescents’ social identities today. In this regard, social

networks can be seen as nonymous environments that differ from anonymous environments, such as

chat rooms or online role-playing games. In nonymous settings, individuals are identifiable by

name. The user profile generally depicts facets of the person’s identity, or as Yurchisin et al. have

called it (2005, as cited in Zhao, Grasmuck, & Martin, 2008), “hoped-for-possible-selves” instead

of an avatar or fictional character. Interestingly, Facebook users, as one example, claim their desired

identities implicitly rather than explicitly. Adolescents stress group and consumer identities more

than personally narrated ones. They are, for example, socially well accepted when they have a lot of

friends and postings on their walls, or they choose profile pictures that depict themselves together

with someone else. Although the option is given to openly describe oneself in the text field “About

you” only a few adolescents use it for self-descriptions (Zhao et al., 2008).

Besides this positive networking, negative experiences have been realized as well. A total of 36% of

adolescent Facebook users say that they have received unpleasant friend requests, 13% felt harassed

by other members, and 15% say that unauthorized people could access their personal information

(BITKOM, 2011b). The most prominent case for unauthorized access – one with shocking

consequences – concerned a 16-year-old girl from Hamburg, who – by mistake – invited the entire

Facebook community to her birthday party, with the address, time, and date included. Even though

she cancelled the party, 1600 adolescents showed up at her house. Anticipating this, the parents had

hired private security, and 100 police officers were also at the venue so that major damage could be

prevented. Nevertheless, this incident vividly depicts how important it is to educate adolescents

about Internet security and potential online dangers.4 Because parents often do not have the

competencies to provide this education, once again schools seem to be called to duty. Yet skill

enhancement among teachers is still necessary for this.

Besides the described nonymous environments, anonymous ones provide opportunities for Internet-

based identity experiments. In a questionnaire-based study in Dutch schools, 600 9-to-18-year-olds

were asked about online experiences related to identity development. Results obtained by

Valkenburg, Schouten, and Peter (2005) showed that 50% of the adolescents who used the Internet

for chat or Instant Messaging had engaged in identity experiments, such as pretending to be older

than they actually were (49.8%), a more flirtatious person (13.2%), or a person of the opposite sex

(9.5%). The most important motives for these experiments were investigating how others react

(self-exploration), overcoming shyness (social compensation), and facilitating the formation of new

relationships (social facilitation) (Valkenburg, Schouten, & Peter, 2005; Bundesinitiative Jugend

ans Netz, 2005).

Overall, social network sites seem to be very similar in structure and self-presentation opportunities

among various countries, as Khveshchanka and Suter (2010) have demonstrated for Russia,

Germany, and the United States. Findings in these countries might give insight into general

developmental processes during adolescence, because all adolescents are co-habitants of the same

online environment. Nevertheless, social networks often connect people that actually have met in

real life, so that cultural influences and differences are only transported to a new medium. Further

research is needed to specify cultural differences in patterns of conquering and making use of online

worlds. In addition to these possible cross-cultural differences, differences in online usage within

4 If the reader is interested in this case and wants to use online resources to access information, videos of “Thessa’s Geburtstagsparty” can be viewed on Youtube (videos were taken with cell phone cameras). The case offers further proof that adolescents use the World Wide Web with less concern and more implicitness than older generations.

cultures have already been reported. For Germany, the Bundesinitiative Jugend ans Netz (2005)

showed that educational level predicts the strategies with which adolescents use the Internet. The

lower the educational level, the higher the likelihood that the adolescents showed stereotyped

behavior; for example, only visiting websites, especially chat rooms, that they already knew.

Exploring new sites and finding information seemed less difficult for adolescents with higher

educational levels. So, even if almost all German adolescents are online, not all of them make use of

the full potential the Internet offers. The user typology given by the 16th German Shell Study (cp.

Albert, Hurrelmann, & Quenzel, 2010) also describes different motives for using the Internet (see

Figure 2).

This typology can be used to identify potential developmental risks, as for boys (Gamers) the risk

for becoming addicted to online gaming is higher than for girls (Rehbein, Kleimann, & Mößle,

17

25

24

34

Functional Users ("Means to an end"):

Somewhat older and often female

adolescents from all backgrounds

Digital Networkers (Social Web):

Somewhat younger and often female

adolescents from all backgrounds

Gamers (Media consumer): Somewhat

younger and often male adolescents

from deprived families

Multi-Users (Internet expertise):

Somewhat older and often male, upper

class adolescents

Figure 2: Internet user typology of 12-to-25-year-old adolescents and emerging adults that use the Internet on a regular basis (%) (Albert, Hurrelmann, & Quenzel, 2010, p. 3)

2010). This shows that new developments, in this case technical achievements, certainly come

along with new opportunities, but there are also risks that need to be examined.

Cultural identities within Germany

With this identity facet, we saved the most difficult concept for last. Most difficulties originate in

the definition of the term “culture.” What is it? How can it be measured? Throughout this chapter,

we have referred to German adolescents and adolescents with migration backgrounds. Often, the

latter were born in Germany, but their parents were born in foreign countries. Knowing this and

using this characteristic for examining group-differences does not tell us much about the cultural,

self-constructed identities of the individuals involved. As with all other identity facets, we can ask

individuals how they define themselves. Is someone German, Turkish, Polish, European, Afro-

German, or a German-Turk? With the categorization based on nationalities, we arrive at subjective

concepts that need further elaboration. What does it mean for the individual to belong to one of

these or other categories? Does it mean speaking a certain language or languages, looking a certain

way (e.g., skin color), taking a certain religious view, following certain traditions, liking certain

music, food, or clothes, or having been raised in a specific manner? Cultural identity as a facet of an

overall identity structure has to be differentiated from culture as a developmental influence (cp.

Valsiner, 2000) that may lead to different outcomes, such as, for example, the independent and

interdependent selves postulated by Markus and Kitayama (1991). In the case of cultural or ethnic

identity, we are asking individuals what culture they identify with and what it means to them. Of

course, developmental processes, and learning and understanding different cultures, are

preconditions that allow an individual to answer these questions.

Defined in this way, cultural or ethnic identity can be seen as one form of social identity, because

adolescents define themselves through group membership. The challenge is to be part of the group

without being absorbed by it, along with the danger of losing individuality (cp. Brewer, 1991).

Schönpflug (2000) examined adolescents with Turkish backgrounds in Germany. Turkish people

are the largest group of migrants in Germany, primarily because they were invited to Germany as

workers after World War II. Schönpflug was able to show that the centrality of Turkish identity

varies widely among the adolescents examined (those of the second generation). For some, it was

very important to distinguish themselves from German culture; for others, assimilation was very

important, and, therefore, they neither denied nor stressed their Turkish background. The degree to

which they were still surrounded by the Turkish culture within their communities or families also

influenced the centrality of their Turkish identity. If the Turkish culture was still very dominant in

their environments, Turkish identity gained importance for the adolescents examined. Schönpflug

(2000) was also able to show that girls are more likely to assimilate to the German culture, whereas

boys are more likely to insist on their Turkish identities. Whether the Muslim belief system adds to

these results remains unclear.

Schönpflug (2000), as one example of many, examined individual identities. Yet ethnic identity can

also be conceptualized as collective identity, which raises the question of what characterizes a

certain cultural group. Schultz and Sackmann (2001) have examined the Turkish collective identity

and came to the conclusion that characteristics of “the Turks,” from their own perspective, are their

religion, hospitality, helpfulness, and family orientation. Negative characteristics are barely named,

stressing that in-groups are usually evaluated more positively than out-groups.

Although members of the same ethnic group might feel closer to each other than to members of

foreign ethnic groups, especially when surrounded by a foreign culture, intra-group differences are

vast. Sharing the same cultural origin does not make individuals the same. Beliefs, values, likes and

dislikes, personalities, political views, and many other things vary widely. These variations must

not be neglected when conducting cross-cultural studies of ethnic groups. What do the individuals

within these groups really have in common?

In Germany, cultural and ethnic identities are often discussed in relation to integration and/or

inclusion. What can be done to facilitate the transition of one culture to the other? What does a

person need to learn besides the language of the now dominant culture? How much does an

individual need to change to manage this transition? What consequences do these changes have for

the overall sense of identity? The vast research already done and still needed in this field cannot be

summarized here. Instead, we would like to point to a general, often-cited observation, with the help

of a short anecdote:

“Two passengers in a train cabin […]. They made themselves comfortable. Spread out on the vacant

seats, there are newspapers, coats, bags. The door opens, and two travelers enter. Their arrival is not

welcome. It seems unpleasant to clear the vacant seats and to share the overhead compartments. In a

peculiar way, the first two passengers show solidarity even though they do not know each other.

[…] It is their territory […]. The new travelers are [finally] tolerated, one gets used to them, but

they remain, with decreasing intensity, stigmatized. Again, two new passengers open the door of the

cabin. At this moment, the status of the travelers, who entered last, changes. From invaders and

outsiders, they suddenly turn into natives […] with all privileges, that they believe they should

have. Their defense of an “ancestral” territory that they just conquered seems paradox; remarkable

the missing empathy with the newcomers […]. Peculiar the fast forgetfulness […]” (Enzensberger,

1992, p. 14f).

Enzensberger (1992) concludes that migration always leads to conflict. Group-egoism and

xenophobia are, according to him, anthropological constants. Hospitality traditions and rituals were

invented to prevent injuries or even wars, but these traditions are based on maintaining the guest

status of the other. Maybe Enzensberger is right in the sense that humans are always afraid of the

unknown. Instead of concluding that this always must lead to conflict, we suggest – in the manner

of the Department of Health, Social Affairs, Women, and Family of North Rhine-Westphalia (2004)

and Dannenbeck (2001) – to educate about diversity, in any sense possible. The more we know

about the other, the more likely peaceful cohabitance becomes. But it still demands negotiation and

compromise on both sides.

Summary and outlook

In Germany as well as in other countries, identity research offers a variety of methodological

approaches. Methodological discussions in Germany often target the question of whether identity

and identity development should be assessed quantitatively or qualitatively. Depending on the

researcher’s aim, and his or her positioning within the field of psychology, the answer can be the

first, the latter, or a combination of both (see Watzlawik & Born, 2007, for an overview). While

questionnaires usually capture different facets (e.g., social identity, dyadic identity, ethnic identity),

identity status (aiming for a categorization of the Diffused, Explorers, Achievers, and the

Foreclosed), or exploration and commitment as steady variables, qualitative interviews allow for a

closer look at individual meaning-making processes – even if they are again used for

categorizations as in the case of the identity status interview (Marcia, 1993). Qualitative interviews

that target the construction of identity through narrations (narrative identity) are another, very

fruitful approach when individual developmental trajectories and the underlying meaning-making

processes are to be examined (e.g., Straub, 2000; Kraus, 1996). Here, some researchers differentiate

between identity development while solving developmental tasks (normative development; cp.

Erikson, 1966) and identity development while being confronted with critical, unexpected life

events (non-normative development; cp. Filipp, 1995). In both cases, we can, nevertheless, speak of

rupture-transitions (cp. Zittoun, 2006) that are an elemental part of human life: “Human life consists

of stability interspersed with ruptures. Transitions that follow such ruptures offer a window on

processes of change at the level of skill acquisition, identities, but also meaning construction”

(Zittoun, 2004, p. 131). Defining identity development in this manner shows that development

never ends, but is a lifelong endeavor under changing societal conditions.

Emerging identity in adolescence and young adulthood is powered by a bundle of more or less

conjoint developmental tasks. Several studies in Germany, referred to in this chapter, showed that

the subjective relevance of the different tasks, the personal resources available, and the social and

ecological situation affect success in coping with these tasks. According to Havighurst, successful

achievement of the developmental tasks leads to positive functioning in society and personal well-

being. The contemporary situation in Germany, as illustrated in this chapter, offers and tolerates

many ways to deal with the multiple tasks and to define one’s identity.

In this chapter, we have addressed different identity facets and the conditions for their development.

We have identified factors that can facilitate positive development in the various areas; most of

these factors target preparation for living in a fast-changing environment with less stability and

more mobility – within and between nations. Identity achievement has thus become more

complicated, because one has to learn to choose from a vast array of possible options. The

individual has to balance his or her identity in changing situations as well as in flexible social and

ecological contexts. As the German sociologist Lothar Krappmann formulated it in 1969 (see

Krappmann, 1997), identity is a creative act that has to be constructed, negotiated, and balanced

consecutively in interpersonal situations. This is still or even more relevant in the 21st century:

Among all possible identity facets and developmental tasks, social identity and with it the

establishment and maintenance of friendships and intimate relationships seem to be essential for

most young people. At any rate, there is a growing need for orientation, because “only someone

able to orient himself can have the sense and the experience of being able to be more or less self-

identical” (Straub, 2002, p. 62). Orientation in a changing world needs achieved commitments more

than foreclosed guidelines. The knowledge of how to discover, construct, and identify with

commitments as well as the competence to resolve, reflect on, and reconstruct them seem essential

for adaptive functioning and personal well-being. From this point of view, the reduction in years of

schooling from 13 to 12 years in order to get the Abitur (German university entrance qualification),

and tightly structured studies as per the Bologna Accords, must be seen as critical. Instead of high-

speed schooling and the pressure to get better grades than national and international competitors,

adolescents and young adults need time and occasions for exploration. Yet there are positive

examples: Innovative schools offer interesting programs that integrate opportunities to learn in

every sense with work in challenging projects, and promote the importance of responsibilities and

experiences.5 Not surprisingly, the number of young adults who volunteer in civil service for a year

after completing school has increased in Germany. In 2007/2008, 35,144 young people were

involved in social or ecological voluntary services (Bundesarbeitskreis FSJ, 2009), as compared to 5 A presentation of innovative schools in Germany is available under http://www.netzwerk-innovativer-schulen.de/

almost 25,000 participants in 2003/2004 (Federal Ministry for Families, Senior Citizens, Women,

and Youth, 2006). Fortunately, changes do not simply complicate developmental conditions, they

also facilitate them. We will end this chapter with two more positive examples: With the Internet,

relationships can be more easily maintained over long distances thanks to e-mail, social networks,

and Internet-based calls, video calls, or chats. On the worldwide web, adolescents and young adults

find new ways to express themselves and to become recognized in their emerging identity, and

many of them accomplish this in a carefree and joyful manner. Secondly, even if we stress the need

for further education about diversity, positive developments are noticeable. Germany has, for

example, never been as tolerant towards same-sex-oriented individuals as it is today – even though

homosexuality was considered a psychological disorder just 20 years ago.6 Such progressive open-

mindedness will help adolescents accept themselves as people, including all facets of their identities

and their unique potentials.

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