Identity development in late adolescence: Causal modeling of social and familial influences

The purpose of this study was to develop a causal model to examine the ways in which familial and social variables influence identity development in late adolescence. Four hundred and ten 18-to 21-year-old male and female college students at a large Midwestern university completed a questionnaire assessing familial security, familial and social relations, and three dimensions of identity. The resulting causal models indicated that security in familial relations enhanced identity development directly, and also indirectly by initially enhancing adolescents' social confidence and degree of interpersonal affiliation. However, the pattern of interaction among these variables varied with sex and with the specific identity measure used. It is suggested that security in familial relations may provide the support for meaningful exploration and experimentation, and enhance aspects of adolescents' sociability, which, when taken together, may enhance the identity formation process.Parts of the current report were presented at the annual meeting of the Americal Psychological Association, Los Angeles, California, August 1985. This study was supported in part by NIMH Training Grant MH-14622, and represents a portion of the doctoral dissertation completed at Michigan State University.Received Ph.D. in Psychology from Michigan State University. Current research interest is identity development in adolescence and adulthood.