The Determinants of Identity Formation during the Transition from Adolescence into Adulthood

Child …, 2010

This study examined identity development in a 5-wave study of 923 early-to-middle and 390 middle-to-late adolescents thereby covering the ages of 12-20. Systematic evidence for identity progression was found: The number of diffusions, moratoriums, and searching moratoriums (a newly obtained status) decreased, whereas the representation of the high-commitment statuses (2 variants of a [fore]closed identity: ''early closure'' and ''closure,'' and achievement) increased. We also found support for the individual difference perspective: 63% of the adolescents remained in the same identity status across the 5 waves. Identity progression was characterized by 7 transitions: diffusion fi moratorium, diffusion fi early closure, moratorium fi closure, moratorium fi achievement, searching moratorium fi closure, searching moratorium fi achievement, and early closure fi achievement.

Identity, 2002

ISBN 978-951-39-3007-3 (PDF), 978-951-39-2961-9 (nid.) Yhteenveto: Identiteetin muotoutuminen aikuisiässä Diss.

Identity, 2016

In line with Erikson's suggestions, increasing empirical evidence substantiates that considerable identity development takes place over the course of adulthood. What then does identity development during adulthood entail? The key findings of adult identity formation from four culturally different countries, and the challenges of analyzing the complex concept of identity are discussed. Although a wide array of identity measures are available, they have not been sufficiently validated for use with middle-aged or older adults. Additionally, different measures may yield results that are not comparable across studies. More studies are needed on adult identity development in populations representing different ethnicities and living in different cultural environments.

This article reviews contemporary issues in the study of self and identity and introduces the special issue. Particularly highlighted are the need to integrate the various currents in self and identity, the need to study the role of context in the development of self and identity, research on self and identity in ethnic minority and international populations, and studies of national identity. The article concludes with recommendations for future research on self and identity.

2005

The thesis to be developed in this chapter is that transitions in the life course correspond to a particular kind of category change, namely shifts in social identity. It is therefore built upon a hitherto largely unrepresented discipline in the study of the life course, social psychology. The utility of a perspective that places social identity at the centre of the life course is that it draws attention to the kinds of events and circumstances associated with, and to some degree responsible for, life course transitions; it helps make sense of the consequences or effects of transitions; it directs attention to questions previously relatively neglected in the life course literature and it has the capacity to link the approaches of different disciplines to the analysis of the life course. The chapter will unfold as follows. First, the traditional view of transition within developmental psychology will be briefly set out as a counterpoint to the view recommended here. The concept of social identity will be elaborated, noting the manner in which it is currently constructed in social psychology, particularly in Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Self-Categorisation Theory, and then emphasising what is believed to be the key quality of social identity, the manner in which it connects individuals to their social worlds. Discussion will then turn to the psychological elements and processes in identity formation, taking the example of political identity.

In line with Erikson's suggestions, increasing empirical evidence substantiates that considerable identity development takes place over the course of adulthood. What then does identity development during adulthood entail? The key findings of adult identity formation from four culturally different countries, and the challenges of analyzing the complex concept of identity are discussed. Although a wide array of identity measures are available, they have not been sufficiently validated for use with middle-aged or older adults. Additionally, different measures may yield results that are not comparable across studies. More studies are needed on adult identity development in populations representing different ethnicities and living in different cultural environments.

Journal of youth and adolescence, 2017

The development of personal and social identity is crucial in adolescence. On the one hand, adolescents face the task of forming and consolidating their personal identity in multiple domains, with educational and interpersonal domains particularly salient. On the other hand, they enlarge their social horizon and increasingly define themselves as members of multiple peer groups, such as groups of classmates and friends met outside school. There is however a lack of integrative research on the interplay among and between personal and social identity processes. Hence the purpose of this study was threefold. First, we examined how personal identity processes in the educational and interpersonal domains are associated longitudinally. Second, we investigated to what extent social identifications with classmates and with the group of friends are associated over time. Third, with an original approach we examined the longitudinal interplay between personal and social identity processes, to c...

Longitudinal patterns of identity formation were analyzed in a representative cohort group of Finnish men and women born in 1959 across ages 27, 36, 42, and 50. The data were drawn from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality. Identity status (diffused, moratorium, foreclosed, achieved) from all four ages was available for 172 participants (54% females). Marcia’s Identity Status Interview used in this research included five domains: religious beliefs, political identity, occupational career, intimate relationships, and lifestyle. The findings indicated great variability in identity status across domains at each age level, and the identity trajectories fluctuated from age 27 to 50. The developmental trend from age 27 to 50 was moderately progressive (toward achievement) for the five domains and for overall identity, with the exception of a slightly regressive trend in male religious identity. Remaining stable in the same status category across the four measurements was rare and emerged only for diffusion in the ideological domains. Women generally outnumbered men in identity achievement at earlier ages, but the gender differences diminished in most domains at age 50, except in religious identity. In women overall diffusion decreased over time, but in men it remained at about 20% at ages 42 and 50.

Journal of Adolescence, 2010

The present study was designed to examine developmental patterns of identity status change during adolescence and young adulthood through meta-analysis. Some 124 studies appearing in PsycINFO, ERIC, Sociological Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts International between 1966 and 2005 provided data. All calculations were performed using the software program, Comprehensive Meta-analysis. Results from longitudinal studies showed the mean proportion of adolescents making progressive identity status changes was .36, compared with .15 who made regressive changes and .49 who remained stable. Cross-sectional studies showed the mean proportion of moratoriums rising steadily to age 19 years and declining thereafter, while the mean proportion of the identity achieved rose over late adolescence and young adulthood; foreclosure and diffusion statuses declined over the high school years, but fluctuated throughout late adolescence and young adulthood. Meta-analyses showed that large mean proportions of samples were not identity achieved by young adulthood. Possible reasons for this phenomenon are explored. Ó

International Journal of advanced research, 2022

The purpose of the study was to investigate Marcia‟s ego identity paradigm in the Indian adolescent population.The study examined the role of age and gender and on the process of Identity formation. A representative sample of 161 adolescents(girls and boys) was collected across three different age groups 13-15, 15-17 and 17-19 years. The Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ) was used to measure participants' level of Exploration and Commitment and accordingly classify them into one of Marcia's four Ego Identity Statuses: Achievement, Moratorium, Foreclosure, and Diffusion identity.The results indicated that most of the adolescents in today‟s times are realistic and more informed about their lives and decisions. Thus, mean scores for both girls (70.24) and boys (70.24) were high in Identity Achievement. Also, both genders were found to be equally active in exploration and commitment domains.The T- scores indicated the comparison between girls and boys in different Identity statuses. The values were found to be non- significant indicating an equal growth in both the genders.

Developmental psychology, 2016

Identity formation is one of the key developmental tasks in adolescence. According to Erikson (1968) experiencing identity uncertainty is normative in adolescence. However, empirical studies investigating identity uncertainty on a daily basis are lacking. Hence, studying individual differences in daily certainty (i.e., identity commitment levels) and uncertainty (i.e., identity commitment fluctuations and identity reconsideration) in the identity formation process may advance our knowledge about the extent to which adolescents' identity uncertainty is part of normative identity development. Therefore, this longitudinal study examined heterogeneity in certainty and uncertainty dynamics of adolescents' daily identity formation using a longitudinal microlevel approach. Dutch adolescents (N = 494; Mage = 13.03 years at T1; 56.7% boys) reported on 2 key dimensions of identity formation (i.e., commitment and reconsideration) in both the educational and interpersonal domain on a da...

Formation of social identity in modern adolescents

Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2020

The traditional approach to identity is focused on research of identity attainment in adolescence and early adulthood. Research of identity in adulthood is scarce, but outlines interesting perspectives. This article is focused on the specific features, typical for the transitional periods of identity reformulation throughout lifespan as adaptive response to the experienced contextual specificity. 703 Bulgarian volunteers in total, aged 18-60, were administered EOMEIS-2 in two different periods-2008 and 2018. The main objective of the study is threefold: 1) to account changes in identity statuses distribution in the two time points-2008 and 2018; 2) to describe the most preferred identity status for adults in Bulgaria; and 3) to outline the most frequent statuses as ensuring the best adaptation of the person to the context. The general results reveal that there is no change in the distribution of the identity statuses. 82% of the adults prefer to postpone their stable commitments and reorganize their identity. Furthermore, this is not a result of inner choice but mainly adaptive response to the requirements of the context. Environment, perceived as unstable and preventing strong commitments, results in identity choices postponement as most adaptive person-context transaction.