Identity and social identification of adolescents in the context of subcultures.

Identity and social identification of adolescents in the context of subcultures The thesis deals with issues of subcultures viewed by contemporary teenagers. It should explain how adolescents relate to subcultures and how identification with subcultures works. Through the thesis goes the theme of identity and its establishing during adolescence, especially within subcultures. The theoretical part concerns adolescence as a developmental period, subcultures in general, groups and group phenomenons (conformity, categorization, need of individuality and need to belong) and identity. The practical part summarize outcomes of quantitative research (questionnaires) and main qualitative research. Dominant technique of data collection were semistructured interviews with adolescents, who identify themselves with subcultures and also with adolescents, who distance from subcultures. Respondents of both researches were 14 to 17 years old. Based on statements made by informants, three basic attitudes, which teenagers take in realation to subcultures (full identification, ambivalent identification and non-identification) and which involve diverse conceptions of subcultures, were described. These resides in emphasizing internal or external signs of membership in subcultures and perception of obligatoriness..