Adolescent egocentrism: a contemporary view.
This study sought to determine whether adolescent egocentrism is displayed during adolescence in the same patterns as when the constructs were first defined in 1967. We empirically revisited the constructs of personal fable and imaginary audience in contemporary adolescents, hypothesizing a decrease in egocentrism with increasing age. Adolescents (N = 2,390) responded to a self-report measure of adolescent egocentrism. Results revealed significant interactions between age and sex for both imaginary audience and personal fable. The results deviated from the original conceptualization discussed in 1967 and supports more recent findings suggesting the existence of adolescent egocentrism in late adolescence. Implications of these findings for those who work with adolescents are discussed.
Schwartz
Paul D
PD
Mount Saint Mary College, 330 Powell Ave., Newburgh, New York 12550-3498, USA.
Maynard
Amanda M
AM
Uzelac
Sarah M
SM
D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent