| The purpose of this research was to examine whether adolescents were buying brands in a manner that reflected attempts to create an identity or in a manner that suggested they used apparel brands to communicate an established identity. My subsequent aim was to assess whether adolescents' identity development was related to congruency between their favorite apparel brand and their identity. To frame this research, self-image congruity theory was utilized (Sirgy, 1982). According to the theory, consumers prefer and buy a particular brand when they consider the brand conveys images similar to their own self-image.;After receiving approval for use of human subjects in research, parental consent forms and student assent forms were provided to 300 students attending a suburban high school. Of the 140 questionnaires completed, 137 questionnaires were usable yielding a 46.3% response rate. Participants' ages ranged from 14 to 18 years. Over half of participants were males and almost all participants were Caucasian. The majority of participants indicated they had a favorite apparel brand. Most participants indicated that they liked their favorite brand a lot. Almost all participants who named a favorite brand owned that brand. The level of congruence between adolescents' favorite apparel brand and their perceived, desired, or social identities varied. The highest level of congruence was found between participants' favorite apparel brand and their perceived identity, followed by social and desired identity.;Participants' level of liking for their favorite apparel brand was significantly related to congruence between their favorite apparel brand and their social identity. The higher the liking for their favorite apparel brand, the more the brand was rated as congruent with their social identity but not their perceived or desired identities. These adolescents were particularly interested in an apparel brand that they could use to project certain identities to other people rather than using apparel brands as a means to obtain an identity. |
