ABSTRACT
The journey that leads to adult adaptation starts with the formation of personal identity. This chapter deals with a consideration of personal identity. It discusses the self and the self-concept. Self-disclosure is the key to any meaningful relationship, and it is especially important in intimate and long-lasting relationships. A healthy person has positive views of what he or she can achieve over time and some self-knowledge about how to reach treasured goals and desired accomplishments. The self-concept includes perceptions of individual personality and traits like a person’s relative efficacy and how other people feel about these traits. The self-concept is distorted in a positive direction in the interest of better mental health. Identity is formed by feedback in relationships that develop components of the self-concept. The components of life that are reflected in identity include occupations, political and religious values and beliefs, cultural membership and broad social interests.
