The Social Identity of Township Youth: An Extension of Social Identity Theory (Part 1)

Abstract

Social Identity Theory in the Bristol tradition has been criticized for paying too little attention to the way in identity is shaped and constrained by a dynamically changing social context. The article develops an extension of Social Identity Theory which aims to address this criticism. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted with working-class township residents in the Durban area, 20 women and 20 men, aged between 17 and 23 years. Interviews were analysed by means of a coding frame within which identity construction was conceptualized in terms of a trialogue amongst Life Challenges, Group Memberships and Behavioural Options. Twenty key Life Challenges facing township youth are identified, as are the eleven most important Group Memberships providing youth with raw materials with which to construct their identities.