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identity and also unable to fit into her society. It can be said that as a teenager Frank is living in a bad condition with an unhealthy mental condition and several problems.
The adolescence period is marked by Erikson as the fifth stage of psychosocial development. In this stage, the important point for the adolescence is to freely explore
hisher identity and this process is called psychosocial moratorium. As a result, the individual can obtain a healthy sense of identity and progress toward the next stage
without confronting problems or crisis. Erikson 1968: 134 mentions that adolescence is a vital regenerator in the process of social evolution. The youth can
offers a true identity of oneself with a sense of being true and accepted by the social value. As in Frank’s case, she is confronted with a problem of her psychosocial
moratorium; she is unable to identify her own identity. Psychosocial moratorium itself is followed by several problems; those are identity diffusion, identity
foreclosure and negative identity. The researcher finds some aspects that point out Frank’s failure in successfully handling the psychosocial moratorium. It can be seen
below:
1. Identity Diffusion
Identity diffusion is a condition where a certain person is unsure about his own identity. He is unable to define who he is and missing a set of beliefs and
convictions about his own identity. This is the first conflict that marks the emergence of identity crisis during the search of oneself in adolescence period. Erikson 1980:
97 states that in general identity diffusion is primarily the inability to settle on an
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occupational identity which disturbs young people. Identity diffusion covers up a wide range of aspects such as identity confusion in family, race, job, education,
gender, sexuality and many more. Identity diffusion is also known as severe identity confusion. Those who are
facing this identity diffusion are likely to be confronted with several problems concerning their mind. Erikson 1968: 170 mentions that identity diffusion is likely
to be accompanied by a acute upset, b identity confusion and c excessive self- awareness. Those problems are originated from an unhealthy social condition. If a
certain individual is living in a family or society that is manifested with a sense of negativity, it will surely affect the individual. The individual will fail to understand
hisher role in society and are likely to be confronted with some identity problems or crisis.
a. Acute upset
Acute upset is the tendency of unleashing anger or hatred. A positive mind is a mind filled with positive thought. Those with positive mind will try to diminish the
feeling of anger or hatred toward someone. As for those with a negative thought, even a small thing can easily upset them. An adolescent who suffers from identity
diffusion is likely to be having an acute upset. The first aspect of Frank’s identity crisis is shown by her acute upset. Her life is full of negativity as she strives in
