Personal responsibility and the role of self-identity in adolescents: a female regional Queensland perspective

Adolescence and the transition into adulthood present numerous challenges for the individual experiencing it, their peers, and society generally. Personal responsibility has been established as an important consideration of adolescent development as it equips youth to gain greater control over their behaviour, emotions and thinking. In particular, the development of personal responsibility during adolescence remains an important area of research in the fields of psychology and education. What is less known is the relationship between female adolescents’ self-identity and their personal responsibility in a regional Queensland setting. Research shows that adolescence is known as a time of exploration and decision-making. Therefore, it has been proposed by the researcher that a deeper understanding surrounding the personal development of female adolescents in a Queensland regional setting is required, especially as it relates to self-identity and personal responsibility. This study addresses the gap in professional practice and literature surrounding the relationship between self-identity and personal responsibility based on current definitions of the concepts. This thesis presents the findings of an exploratory study investigating female adolescent perspectives of self-identity, personal responsibility, and the possible relationship between them in a regional Queensland all-girls private secondary school context. Primary data was collected using semi-structured focus group interviews. The results confirmed the definitional dimensions of the concepts of self-identity and personal responsibility. Key findings concur with the study’s propositions that self-identity is positively related to and influences personal responsibility. The emerging themes provided deeper understanding and insights into this relationship. However, the relationship is more complex and reciprocal than first understood. Further, the themes emerging from the analysis suggest that rather than a unidirectional relationship between self-identity and personal responsibility, instead influenced each other. Peer relations were found to have a notable influence on the relationship between self-identity and personal responsibility