AUTHENTICITY IN ADOLESCENCE: THE MARGINALIZATION OF THE SELF IN A TIME OF TRANSITION, BELONGING, AND IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

This study aims to deepen the understanding of the formation of the Self during one of the most symbolically marginalized stages of human development: adolescence. Often positioned at the margins of social recognition, adolescence constitutes a singular developmental phase marked by intense biological, emotional, social, and symbolic transformations. This qualitative research adopts a bibliographic and theoretical-analytical approach, grounded in contributions from Developmental Psychology, Historical-Cultural Psychology, Social Philosophy, and Critical Studies of Subjectivity. Classical and contemporary works by authors such as Henri Wallon (1968), Lev Vygotsky (1999), Erik Erikson (1968), Audre Lorde (2019), Zygmunt Bauman (2001), Charles Taylor (2011), and Brené Brown (2019) were selected due to their relevance to discussions on identity processes, authenticity, belonging, and the constitution of the subject during adolescence. The study analyzes authenticity in adolescence through the concept of marginalization of the Self, understood not only as social exclusion but as a subjective process in which adolescents are placed at the margins of themselves, their childhood history, and a socially legitimized position. It problematizes how social belonging, the media environment, the need to fit in, the mourning of the childhood body, the desire to be heard, and protagonism directly interfere with the construction of an authentic Self during this transitional period. The guiding question of the research concerns how adolescents can be encouraged to recognize themselves authentically while navigating a phase of profound transition. The study argues that adolescence should not be understood as a “passing chaos,” but rather as a powerful portal of subjective reorganization, in which engagement with the present moment is essential for self-regulation and for the consolidation of authenticity.