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99
Most participant experiences referenced developing mature interpersonal
relationships as having an impact on their identity. Chickering and Reisser (1993)
contend that peer interactions provide for a learning environment and help shape the
student’s personal identity. While serving as the President of her sorority chapter,
one participant noted that another member “questioned [her] ability to lead.” The
participant then stated that the experience “…really affected my confidence…made
me question myself. But it taught me how to handle situations diplomatically, how to
work under pressure of peer-evaluation etc.” Relating the experience of helping a
friend with an eating disorder, one participant stated that “I am the only friend that
she has told and as I comforted her I felt really close to her. This incident has given
me my sense of self as one who takes pride in her friendships and strives to nurture
others.” Another participant stated that the sorority friendships she has built “…will
last throughout my life and still continue to mold me into a well-rounded individual.”
Most participants did not speak to establishing identity directly, however
many incidents dealt with factors related to participants finding their sense of self as
a result of an experience. In regards to being judged as a result of her sorority
affiliation, one participant stated that she “discovered that I had never molded or
changed my attitudes to become a typical “sorority” girl. It made me realize that I am
my own person and no activity I do or partake in shapes who I am or defines what I
am.” In reference to a difficult experience, one participant stated: “I learned that I
have to be confident in the decisions I make and trust myself and my instincts.”
Object Description
| Title | Student perspectives on identity development: describing the experiences sorority members perceive influenced their identity |
| Author | Sarkissian, Vergene |
| Author email | vergenes@usc.edu; sarkv@hotmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-05-13 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Restricted until 2 Oct. 2009. |
| Date published | 2009-10-02 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Goodyear, Rodney K. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Malloy, Courtney Espalin, Charles A. |
| Abstract | This qualitative study examined the college related sources of impact that sorority member students perceived affected their identity development. A variant of Flanagan's (1954) Critical Incident Technique was used to ask sorority members (n=70) to describe one or two critical incidents that they believed had affected their sense of self, and then to rate the immediate positivity of the incident, as well its eventual effect on their sense of self. Three doctoral students reviewed the 100 obtained incident reports, from which they developed 14 themes: Participating in rush an/or joining a sorority; Being elected or serving in a sorority leadership position; Dealing with crisis; Receiving the support of sisters with in the sorority network; Being elected or serving in a leadership position in a campus related organization; Learning about myself as a result of a romantic relationship; Making an important, independent decision for myself; Making a commitment to community service and outreach; Sorority affiliated judgment or rejection; Having an experience of failure; Making the transition from home to college; Studying abroad; Receiving personal or career guidance from others; Engaging in a selfless act of compassion. The findings of this study provide valuable insight and knowledge to the potential benefits of sorority affiliation in regards to college women's identity development. The findings also support previous research on women's identity development and suggest gender specific developmental pathways. In congruence with student development research and theory, experiences related to student involvement, relationship, autonomy and crisis were prevalent in the participant responses. The limitations of the study, recommendations for future research and implications for higher education practice are also presented. |
| Keyword | identity development; women's identity development; sorority membership; sorority network; student inolvement; leadership; relationships; mentorship; social capital; crisis; autonomy; study abroad |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Digitized by the University of Southern California |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1619 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Sarkissian, Vergene |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Sarkissian-2435 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume14/etd-Sarkissian-2435.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 107 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 99 Most participant experiences referenced developing mature interpersonal relationships as having an impact on their identity. Chickering and Reisser (1993) contend that peer interactions provide for a learning environment and help shape the student’s personal identity. While serving as the President of her sorority chapter, one participant noted that another member “questioned [her] ability to lead.” The participant then stated that the experience “…really affected my confidence…made me question myself. But it taught me how to handle situations diplomatically, how to work under pressure of peer-evaluation etc.” Relating the experience of helping a friend with an eating disorder, one participant stated that “I am the only friend that she has told and as I comforted her I felt really close to her. This incident has given me my sense of self as one who takes pride in her friendships and strives to nurture others.” Another participant stated that the sorority friendships she has built “…will last throughout my life and still continue to mold me into a well-rounded individual.” Most participants did not speak to establishing identity directly, however many incidents dealt with factors related to participants finding their sense of self as a result of an experience. In regards to being judged as a result of her sorority affiliation, one participant stated that she “discovered that I had never molded or changed my attitudes to become a typical “sorority” girl. It made me realize that I am my own person and no activity I do or partake in shapes who I am or defines what I am.” In reference to a difficult experience, one participant stated: “I learned that I have to be confident in the decisions I make and trust myself and my instincts.” |
