The Development of Self-Conceptions from Childhood to Adolescence

Self-concept development from childhood to adolescence was studied from a cognitive-structural perspective. The responses of subjects to the question "Who am I?" were analyzed by means of a 30-category scoring system. Between childhood and adolescence, there was a significant increase in self-conceptions categorized as follows: occupational role; existential, individuating; ideological and belief references; the sense of self-determination; the sense of unity; interpersonal style; and psychic style. A decrease occurred for self-conceptions based on territoriality, citizenship; possessions, resources; and physical self, body image. Curvilinear age changes were found for the use of the categories sex; name; kinship role; membership in an abstract category; and judgments, tastes, likes. The results for self-concept development were in general agreement with Werner's notion that cognitive development proceeds from a concrete to an abstract mode of representation.