Identity in the simplest terms refers to who and what we are. It can be described as an easily noticed characteristics belonging to any given individual, or shared by all members of a particular social category or group. The process of the development of the distinct personality of an individual is referred to as identity formation. The identity of an individual or group comprises of one's identification with significant others; primarily with parents and other individuals during one's biographical experience. An individual's identity consists of a persona, sexual identity and gender identity while the group expressions include religious identity, cultural identity, political identity and national identity. On one hand, in personalizing identity, it is the embodiment of self and representation of an individual 's inner being, showing the character, attitude, belief, religious faith and morality of the person that is portrayed naturally and reflect in the conduct of an individual. On the other hand, group identity or collective identity represents the cultural and traditional beliefs, the tenets, way of life, modes of association, and societal expectations.
The issue of identity crisis was one of Erik Erikson's eight psychosocial stages of development, which he developed in the late 1950s. An identity crisis is "a necessary turning point, a crucial moment, when development must move one way or another, marshalling resources of growth, recovery, and further differentiation" (Erikson 16). The most common use of the term identity crisis refers to normative psychosocial development during the periods of adolescence and emerging adulthood. Archer and Grey reported that mixed societies are particularly problematic for identity formation and it occurs at a time when one is seeking continuity or looking to find a sense of one's uniqueness yet still fit within one's society's parameters .
