The sense of self, superego and ego-ideal in Turkish sephardic jewish young adults

Abstract

The present study is a qualitative study of the self, superego, ego-ideal structures and identity conceptualizations of Turkish Jewish young adults between the ages of 21 and 23. Ten interviews were conducted, focusing on the participants’ family structures, behaviors, beliefs and attitudes through the use of a semistructured topic guide. These interviews were evaluated by the use of narrative analysis and in this attempt the Western literature and Roland’s (1988) theoretical approach in describing the self within Eastern cultures were used as the frameworks of the study. The narratives revealed a familial self construction with symbiosis-reciprocity predominantly in maternal and a mild structural hierarchy in paternal interactions. The participants were seen to be brought up with a tolerant, respectful, affectionate parental manner where autonomy is supported yet is accompanied by overprotection. A strong, well-integrated and non-punitive superego structure with a salient relational dimension, an ego ideal formation that holds highly internalized rules and standards for proper behavior, a sense of we-self regard and a socially contextual ego ideal were observed. The sense of Jewish identity manifested by the participants puts emphasis on fulfilling certain cultural values or obligations embracing family and community ties and conceptualizes inter-group relationships and intermarriage as a challenge. The sense of belonging to a minority group was strong. There was not a meaningful gender difference regarding these issues among the participants.|Keywords: Turkish Jewish identity, superego, ego-ideal, familial self