Being the Real Me, Right Now; Adolescent Authenticity

Being the Real Me, Right Now; Adolescent Authenticity

Adolescence is the peak experimental period for identity development of the self and authenticity is important for psychological wellbeing. Little is known about adolescents’ (13–17 years old) experiences of state authenticity and inauthenticity—the sense of and being the real me (or not) right now. If more is known, it becomes possible to identify ways to support teens’ positive psychological development in everyday moments. This thesis presents three papers which explored teens’ authenticity. The scoping review identified what is known about teens’ authenticity and inauthenticity from peer-reviewed primary research studies. It showed authenticity and inauthenticity are usually characterised as dispositional, rarely as states, and involve thoughts, feelings, awareness, and sense of being a true or false self. The second paper qualitatively explored a very recent experience of state authenticity and inauthenticity teens had while socialising online with a friend they knew in-person. Six teens were interviewed and inductive thematic analysis of their experiences showed state authenticity feels natural, comfortable, requires little thinking, and shows in what they choose to do. Transient state inauthenticity involved holding back authentic thoughts from a friend. More or less autonomous motivations (intrinsic, identified, introjected, external) seemed to be involved in teens’ (in)authenticity experiences, so the third paper quantitatively investigated this. An online survey of 115 teens across Australia showed autonomous motivation explained 18% of variability in state authenticity/inauthenticity. Greater state authenticity is experienced by teens who: anticipate having a lot of freedom while socialising online with their friend; value deepening their friendship so listen to their friend; and expect to enjoy sharing emotions and fun moments. This thesis mapped foundational knowledge to facilitate future research, identified what a very recent experience of teens’ state authenticity and inauthenticity is like, identified a predictor and also referents which may be able to be modified by teens while socialising to enhance their positive psychological experiences.