Contextual Mapping

Contextual mapping as described by Nakkula allows youth to identify and work on strength and weakness that may be presnet within their personality.  In the text Mitch asks Julian a series of personal questions.  These questions allow Mitch and Julian to identify the areas in which Julian is strong and which he needs to work on.  The ultimate goal of the excersise is to allow the youth to understand their role within society as an individual.

The four different identities are:
Foreclosed Identity:  The person is committed to a particular way of life without exploration into different alternatives.  This identity is often pushed upon a person by family friends, or peers.
Diffuse Identity:  When a person has commited to a particular identity in one social situation, but to another in different situations.  Individuals in a diffused state are very easy manipulated due to their unsure and differing nature
Moratorium Identity:  The person explores all roles and different situations around them but fails to commit to any particular role or identity.
Achieved Identity:  This is when the identity crisis is resolved and the person has fully developed who they are at the particular place and time.  It is important to note that there is a chance that a person who is in the Achieved Identity state can fall back into any one of the previous identities

My Contextual Map

RIC -  Teachers, Classmates, Friends,
YMCA (work/internship) - Children, Co-Workers, Boss, Parents, Members
Home - Family, Friends