Separation-individuation and ego identity status in late adolescence: A two-year longitudinal study

This study was undertaken to clarify developmental relationships between intrapsychic object relations structure and ego identity status during late adolescence; one purpose was to examine the possible predictive relationship between initial attachment style and later identity status. A total of 76 subjects (41 females and 35 males) who had been given the Marcia Ego Identity Status Interview and the Hansburg Separation Anxiety Test (SAT) as first-year university students in 1984 were reassessed two years later. Fitted log linear models indicated strong links between attachment style and identity status in 1986, and between identity status in 1984 and 1986; only an indirect connection existed between attachment style in 1984 and 1986 as measured by the SAT. When 1984 and 1986 identity status were known, it was possible to predict 1986 attachment style without knowing 1984 attachment style; 1984 attachment style alone was unable to predict later identity status accurately.This research was supported by a grant from the Internal Research Committee, Victoria University of Wellington.Received Ph.D. in Child Development from the Florida State University. Current research interest is identity formation from a life-span perspective.Received Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics from Victoria University of Wellington. Among current research interests is the analysis of sparse contingency tables.