I Like Being Who I Am: A study of young people's ideals

The study of young people's heroes and heroines is seen as a powerful way to explore the socio-cultural factors that shape the self. One hundred and eleven girls and 113 boys from an English comprehensive school, aged 11-16 years (mean=13.2, SD=1.41) provided responses to questionnaire items designed to allow them to express freely their ideals and most admired adults. Following content analysis, the results were presented according to dominant responses and underlying values, with separate analyses for age and gender. Most of the young people were happy to be themselves and whilst they were able to identify a hero that person did not necessarily represent their ideal self. Heroes were primarily drawn from the sporting world and the media. The results are discussed in terms of personal identity development during adolescence.