ORIGINAL ARTICLE Self-concept in young adults with a learning disability from the Jewish community Karen Bunning, School of Allied Health Professions, Institute of Health, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK (E-mail: k.bunning@uea.ac.uk) and Gabriela Steel, Department of Language & Communication Science, City University London, London, UK Summary A small pilot study was conducted to explore the self-concept of young people with a learning disability from a Jewish community in an inner city area. Four young people participated in the project. All attended a college dedicated to the further education of people with special needs from the Jewish community. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the participants. A low-technology augmentative communication strategy called ‘Talking Mats’ was employed [J. Murphy and L. Cameron (2002b) Talking Mats and learning disability: a low-tech resource to help people to express their views and feelings. Scotland, University of Stirling] to cater for the participant’s varying communication needs. The participant placed relevant symbols on a mat to capture views expressed during interview. Three key themes emerged from the data: ‘being young’, ‘having a learning disability’ and ‘being Jewish’. The narratives associated with each theme were closely intertwined. Membership of the Jewish community was central to the concept of self. The research highlighted the importance of context and cultural belonging to the construction of identity. Use of ‘Talking Mats’ during interview proved an accessible format, both for exploring the views of people with learning disabilities, and providing them with feedback about the research. Keywords Identity, Jewish community, self-concept, Talking Mats, young adults Identity is a term used to refer to an individual persona or the collective identity of a group of persons. It refers to the constructs that define individuality and sense of self (French et al. 2000). Self-knowledge and the act of ‘speaking about ourselves’ contribute to identity formation (Priestley 1999). The concept of ‘self’ is unformed and unfixed. An open system operates within the person that is informed by experience, and through which physical and psychological features are attributed to the ‘self’ (Schaffer 2004). It arises from the process of ‘self-objectification’, seeing yourself as others see you (Giddens 1991). The foundations of self- concept are generally established during childhood. Chan- ges occur through a series of developmental dimensions as the child moves from expression of a simple concept of self, e.g. ‘I am good’ or ‘bad’, through identification of outer visible characteristics, e.g. ‘I have long hair’, to recognition of inner attributes, ‘I am rather moody’. Finally, there is the ability to distinguish between the private self and the self viewed by others (Schaffer 1996). Transitions continue to take place at critical points in an individual’s life course. Biological maturation corresponds with expanding social horizons giving rise to altered roles, new demands and responsibilities associated with each change. Personal experiences and social or public narratives (what others say and how they respond at all levels of society) interact (Somers 1994; Thomas 1999). The degree of success or failure experienced in these encounters alternately engenders feelings of competence or incompetence (Schaffer 1996). ª 2006 The Authors Journal compilation ª 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 43–49 doi:10.1111/j.1468-3156.2006.00388.x/Bild 960