From the author: Source of publication: website about the knowledge of the phenomenon of personality - Pathologies Personal identity is determined by the combination of three components: identity, integrity and continuity. The crisis of personal identity at the stage of self-determination and career guidance, which falls on the period of 16-18 years, is characterized by characteristics of disidentification, discreteness, and intermittency. These manifestations are also characteristic of other age-related crises, so one should consider the specifics of the manifestation of the crisis in conjunction with the factors of self-determination and career guidance. Various aspects of personality, such as character traits, come into conflict with each other and the environment. Thus, accentuated character traits appear in response to situational stimuli that are directly opposite to them. At the same time, accentuations can be transformed into various types, as if running like a needle in the body until they find the weakest point to manifest themselves through. The personality becomes discrete, separated into separate components, individual accentuated features, individual situational experiences, which are then consolidated as a stereotype of emotional response to this situation. This, by the way, is the cause of narcissism. E. Erikson connected the concept of self-determination with the concept of identification. According to his opinion, if in adolescence the problem of identification was not resolved, then a blurred identity is formed, the development of which can proceed in four main directions: 1. avoidance of psychological intimacy, avoidance of close interpersonal relationships; 2. erosion of the sense of time, inability to make life plans, fear of growing up and change; 3. erosion of productive, creative abilities, inability to mobilize one’s internal resources and focus on some priority activity; 4. formation of a “negative identity”, refusal of self-determination and selection of negative models for behavior. Canadian researcher James Marcia identified four stages of identity development, measured by the degree of professional, religious and political self-determination of a young person. 1. “Uncertain, fuzzy identity” is characterized by the fact that the individual has not yet developed any clear beliefs, has not chosen a profession, or has not faced an identity crisis. 2. “Premature, premature identification” occurs if the individual has become involved in the corresponding system of relations, but did not do so independently, but as a result of a crisis and trial experienced, but on the basis of alien opinions, following someone else’s example or authority. 3. “Moratorium” is characterized by the fact that the individual is in the process of a normative crisis of self-determination, choosing from numerous development options the only one that he can consider his own. 4. “Mature identity” can be characterized as the end of the crisis, the individual moves from searching for himself to practical self-realization. A young man faced with a choice, in particular, professional guidance, can go in two ways. One is longer and heavier, requiring your own efforts and an active position. This is the path of self-realization, the path of your own meaningful decision. We can distinguish three stages that a young man sequentially goes through along this path: blurred identity, moratorium, mature identity. The other way is much simpler. By accepting it, the young man takes a passive position in relation to professional guidance. He relies on the opinions of more authoritative people, adults, close friends and acquaintances, but not on his own decision. This path blocks self-realization. I would like to note modern research conducted by employees of the Department of Developmental Psychology and Differential Psychology of St. Petersburg State University (L. V. Rykman, M. V. Danilova, M. Yu. Derbeneva, N. A. Aleksandrova). They studied the professional self-determination of young men and adolescents. The study was comprehensive, that is, it involved studying.