ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter on self-concept development in adolescence is to review some major findings that have emerged from studies of normative developmental trajectories, to explain and provide an example of how an intraindividual variability perspective permits interesting new lines of research, and to identify key gaps in the existing literature and challenges in advancing research in this area. We use the terms self-concept and self-representations interchangeably to refer to the consciously acknowledged content of an individual’s self-knowledge, which is subject to self-reflection (see Diehl, Youngblade, Hay, & Chui, 2011; Harter, 1999). Self-concept is primarily descriptive in nature, which distinguishes it from constructs such as self-esteem and self-worth, which are primarily and explicitly evaluative.
