The Role of Peers as Agents of Identity Formation in Japanese First-Year University Students

Abstract

This study demonstrated that peers can act as agents of late adolescent identity formation. A short-term longitudinal study was used to examine identity formation in Japanese first-year university students (n = 170), specifically focusing on identity exploration in the learning sphere among students during their transition to a university. The study examined characteristics of adolescent peer agents and described how they facilitate identity exploration of other adolescents. Five categories of perspectives and actions of peer agents were identified: identity concern, identity goals, identity clues, companionship, and bridging. Peer agents shared learning goals and provided motivation in the process of exploration. Implications of these findings for the role of peers as agents in adolescent identity formation and the characteristics of peer agents in Japanese cultural context are discussed.

Notes

Noriko Shimizu is no longer affiliated with Nagoya University, and is currently in Palo Alto, California, USA.

¹Detailed descriptions of the four steps of the course and the questionnaires are available from Kazumi Sugimura.

²These students helped those group members who developed their idea and style of learning at the university through the 5 weeks of sessions. The criteria for selecting these students are available from Kazumi Sugimura.

³In universities in Japan, students are usually required to take a course in a foreign language other than English such as German, French, or Chinese.