Ego identity formation in middle adolescence

Assumed determinants of ego identity were investigated in this study using sophomore, junior, and senior high school males and females. Subjects were administered the Marcia Ego Identity Status Scale and measures of sex-role identification, personality development, psychological functioning, self-concept, and parental socialization practices. Data analyses, using a median split on identity score, showed that high-identity adolescents obtained more positive scores on sex-role identification, personality development, psychological adjustment, and self-concept than low-identity adolescents. Socialization practices also differed for the two groups. The sex differences which emerged were congruent with the identity literature. Overall, the data supported Erikson's theory of ego identity development.This study was funded by Grant No. 791-01-010-502 from the Senate Research Committee, University of Nebraska at Omaha.Received his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Major interests are in the area of social and personality development in children and adolescents.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, September 1975.     

试论高校心理咨询工作的现状、问题及对策

社会经济迅猛发展 ,对当代大学生的综合素质要求也越来越高。但在压力之下 ,大学生心理障碍日益严重 ,而高校心理咨询在帮助大学生纠正心理偏常、缓解心理压力、开发自身潜能方面起着任何其它形式的教育都无法替代的作用。然而 ,根据大量的心理调查表明 ,目前高校在心理咨询方面还存在不少问题和误区 ,在宣传普及、资金投入、队伍建设、理论研究方面远远不能满足素质教育的要求 ,亟待加强和完善。     

Ego identity status and expressive writing among high school and college students

Several studies were conducted to assess the relationship between expressive writing (poetry writing and journal keeping) and ego identity development among high school and college students. In three independent comparisons, poetry writers were more likely than students not writing poetry to have previously resolved identity crises (i.e., to be in the identity achiever status). There were also indications that students who had never written poetry were more likely to be in the foreclosure and identity diffusion statuses. No differences in identity development were found between students keeping personal journals and those who had not kept journals. A comparison was made of the themes most frequently chosen as the subject for each type of expressive writing and the functions such writings were believed to be serving. Possible explanations for why poetry writing, but not journal keeping, is related to ego identity formation are discussed.Received his Ph.D. from State University of New York at Buffalo. Research interests include psychosocial development during adolescence, youth, and adulthood and techniques for resolving identity crises.Research interests include identity development in early and midadolescence and the choice of models.     

Ego development and moral development in relation to age and grade level during adolescence

The relation between Loevinger's measure of ego development and moral development as indexed by Rest's Defining Issues Test was examined in a sample of 517 adolescents between 12 and 21 years of age. Major increases in moral capacity were found at the Conformist and Conscientious levels of ego development. Low positive correlations between ego level and moral capacity were reported for young adolescents but not for older ones. The development indices of age and grade were compared. Both ego and moral development seemed more closely related to grade level than to age. Socioeconomic status predicted acceleration in ego development at the rate of one half an ego level over middle to late adolescence. This effect persisted at university. Students of higher socioeconomic background attained developmental levels one to two years before their contemporaries of low socioeconomic status. Sex differences in ego development were in favor of females.This study was part of the author's Ph.D. thesis at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. Partial funding for the study was provided by a Brandon University research grant.The author is an assistant professor in psychology at Brandon University with interests in social cognition, vocational development, and sexual socialization during adolescence.     

Ego identity status,ego development,and locus of control in college women

This study examined the relationship of identity status to ego development and locus of control in 75 college women. The identity statuses did not differ significantly in self-reported locus of control, but did differ on the depth measure of ego development. Consistent with identity theory and with previous research with males, identity achievers and moratorium (incrisis) women were more advanced in their ego development than fore-closure and diffusion women.This article is based in part on the doctoral dissertation of Sheila D. Ginsburg, Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy degree, University of Missouri—St. Louis.Received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Missouri—St. Louis. Current research interests include normative and dysfunctional development in children and adolescents.Received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at State University of New York at Buffalo. Research interests include personality and social development of adolescents and young adults.     

A cross-cultural study of self-image: Indian,American, Australian,and Irish adolescents

Planning for research and youth welfare programs in every developed and developing country is essential if man envisages the normalization of sick adolescents. Adolescent unit programs are needed in India, as in all parts of the United States, and should be an integral part of medical institutes in every university. Actually, the problem of generation gap, ego identity, and subcultures (i.e., peer group pressure) creating negative attitudes in youth is one of the most explosive problems that behavioral scientists face in the modern era. The present project is an attempt to study the self-image, ego strength, self-esteem, or level of psychological well-being of a normal adolescent group of Indians and to compare this with youth of three other nationalities-American, Irish, and Australian. To measure the self-esteem of an individual, 11 areas of conflict including impulse control, emotional tone, body and self-image, social attitudes, morals, sexual attitudes, family relations, external mastery, vocational and educational goals, psychopathology, and superior adjustment have been examined. The Hindi version of the Offer Self-image Questionnaire has been used. The sample consists of 400 boys and 400 girls, ages 14 to 18, of middle class socioeconomic status; the educational level is high school/intermediate. It is concluded that American and Australian adolescents, in general, have higher self-esteem or ego strength than do Indian and Irish adolescents, respectively.Received her Ph.D. in psychology from the Banaras Hindu University in India. Since 1974 she has been Chairman of the Department of Psychology at Banaras Hindu University. In 1972, she was selected, under the Social Science Exchange program, to spend one year at the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute and the Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Institute of Michael Reese Hospital. Her interests are clinical, social, and psychological aspects of crime and delinquency, and cross-cultural studies of adolescents.     

Ego Strength Development of Adolescents Involved in Adult-Sponsored Structured Activities

A psychosocial conception of ego strengths is presented in relation to adolescent involvement in adult-sponsored structured youth activities. Five-hundred and seventeen high school students completed measures on their involvement in structured activities and on 8 ego strengths. Gender, age, and SES were controlled in a MANCOVA procedure and it was found that extracurricular activities of sports, student government, and belonging to an issues group, as well as engagement in volunteerism were related to several of the ego strengths. Religious attendance was not related to the ego strengths. In longitudinal analysis, it was shown that ego strength at Time 1 predicted involvement in structured activities at Time 2 (8 months later), but structured activities at Time 1 did not predict ego strength at Time 2. The findings are discussed relative to theory and research findings on the topic.Carol A. Markstrom is a Professor in Family and Consumer Sciences, West Virginia University. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology in 1988 from Utah State University. Her research interests include adolescent identity formation, positive youth development, American Indian adolescents, and indigenous models of human development.Xaioming Li is a Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology in 1992 from the University of Minnesota. Research interests (in general) include child development, adolescent health risk prevention and intervention, research methodology, and biostatistics.Shana L. Blackshire is a M. S. Instructor, Child Development and Family Studies, Division of Family and Consumer Sciences, West Virginia University.Juanita J. Wilfong is a graduate student, Elementary Education, West Virginia University.     

Adolescents' concepts of marriage: A structural-developmental analysis

This study involved the construction of a theory and scoring manual for assessing the developmental stages of individuals' concepts of marriage. Four stages (Magical, Idealized Conventional, Individualistic, Affirmational) were identified. The reliability of the scoring procedure (interrater and item-total protocol) was judged to be acceptable. Correlations with age, schooling, ego development, and years of marriage support the marriage concepts stage sequence. Adolescents (N=162) scored at the first two stages of marriage concepts. However, in ego development, their mean score was above the Conformist level, thus suggesting that the adolescents were more advanced in their overall personality development than in their developmental stages of marriage concepts.This study was supported in part by a grant from The Spencer Foundation and conducted at the Social Science Institute, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.Received his Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. Current research interests include personality development in adolescents and young adults.     

Effect of similarity of ego identity status on interpersonal attraction

Similarity of ego identity status, assessed by Marcia's four-category classification system, was related to interpersonal attraction. Using male and female college students as subjects, this study found that (1) while all judges preferred targets who had or who are undergoing a crisis to those who have not had a crisis, (2) diffuse judges preferred targets with no commitments to those with commitments, and (3) judges with commitments preferred a foreclosure target more than judges without commitments. Differential evaluations of the targets' intelligence, knowledge of current events, adjustment, and morality were also found. Results are discussed both in terms of previous research positively relating personality similarity to attraction and Erikson's theory of the relationship between ego identity development and intimacy in interpersonal relations.     

Identity development and formal operations as sources of adolescent egocentrism

The self-concerns and social expectations that are part of the identity development process may lead adolescents to think that others survey them for signs of individuality. The novelty of identity development may also lead to feelings of uniqueness and invulnerability. The imaginary audience and personal fable may therefore stem from identity development and not from the emergence of formal operations. In this study high school and first-year university students (N=255) completed measures of adolescent egocentrism, identity development, and formal operations. Egocentrism was moderately associated with higher scores on identity crisis and identity achievement, and with lower scores on identity diffusion. There was no significant relationship between egocentrism and the emergence of formal operations.Received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Victoria. His main interests are in personality, social and developmental psychology.Currently completing a master's degree at Lakehead University. Interests are in social and clinical psychology.     

Ego identity status and decision styles

It was hypothesized that the decision processes used in coping with the identity crisis would be related to more general decision styles in that identity achievers and moratoriums would tend to be reflective in their conceptual tempo while foreclosures would typically be impulsive. No prediction was made about identity diffusions. Ninety-two male college students were given an identity status interview and the Matching Familiar Figures Test. The results were consistent with the hypotheses, and in addition it was found that identity diffusions were generally impulsive. Since conceptual tempo has been found to be well established in childhood, the results of this study have implications for the early prediction of adult identity status.Received Ph.D. from SUNY/Buffalo. Recent research has been mainly concerned with the development of ego identity and correlates of the different identity statuses.Received Ph.D. from SUNY/Buffalo. Recent research has been mainly concerned with the development of ego identity and correlates of the different identity statuses.     

Cognitive mediators of ego functioning in adolescence

It has often been assumed that a relationship exists between higher levels of cognitive functioning, particularly formal operations, and mature ego functioning in adolescence. This research examined the relationships between ego functioning and two domains of operational thinking: social interpersonal reasoning and physical-mathematical reasoning in 139 high school seniors. Subjects were given two measures of physical-mathematical reasoning, two measures of interpersonal reasoning, and the Sentence Completion Test of ego functioning, as well as a measure of verbal intelligence. Results indicated significant differences between males and females in patterns of correlations as well as in patterns of relationships in a causal analysis. Ego functioning was predicted by interpersonal reasoning for females and by physical-mathematical reasoning and verbal intelligence for males.This research represents a portion of the doctoral dissertation completed by the senior author in 1981. The research was supported by a grant to A. Petersen from the Spencer Foundation.Received Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Chicago. Current interests are sex-related differences in adolescent ego development and psychosocial variables in adolescent chronic illness.Received Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Current interest is biopsychosocial development in adolescence, primarily early adolescence.Research Affiliate, Laboratory for Study of Adolescence, Michael Reese Hospital. Received Ph.D. from University of Chicago. Current interest is sex-related differences in the psychological effects of puberty.Research Associate, Laboratory for the Study of Adolescence, Michael Reese Hospital; Program Associate, Health Program, MacArthur Foundation. Received Ph.D. from Syracuse University. Current interest is sex-related differences in socialization.     

Gender,ethnic group,and grade differences in psychosocial functioning during middle adolescence?

Prior research has found significant differences between ethnic groups in identity formation. However, most investigations have either failed to include or adjust for SES level differences. To reassess possible differences in psychosocial development between African American, American Indian, Mexican American, and White American 10th–12th grade male and female adolescents (n=123), ethnic groups were compared according to passive-active dimensions delineated in identity, sex role orientation, and locus of control. A series of analyses of covariance (using education level of father and mother as covariates) were computed using ethnicity, grade, and gender in the factorial model as main effects. Consistent with previous research, White adolescents scored significantly lower than the other groups on ideological foreclosure. Overall, however, more similarity than differences between the four ethnic groups were found. Older students were observed to be more psychosocially mature, and males scored higher than females on identity diffusion. Marginal support was gained for the proposed passive-active delineations of the dependent variables.Partial support for this project was provided to Gerald Adams through funding from the Utah State Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah, and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, Ottawa, Canada.Received Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Department of Psychology, Utah State University. Research interests: identity formation, ego strength and psychosocial maturity in adolescence, interfaith dating and courtship, and ethnic contexts of development.(Visiting Professor, Division of Family Resources, West Virginia University, 1994–1995 academic year.) Received Ph.D. in human development and family studies, Pennsylvania State University. Research interests: personality and social development in adolescence, identity formation, parent-adolescent relationships, and adolescent social problems.     

The relationship between ego identity status and Erikson's notions of institutionalized moratoria,value orientation stage,and ego dominance

A number of concepts central to Erikson's theory of ego identity formation (J. E. Côté and C. Levine [1987], A Formulation of Erikson's Theory of Ego Identity Formation, Development Review, 7(4): 273–325) are discussed in relation to Marcia's identity status paradigm in light of the fact that both assign a significant role to the notion of identity crisis. The results of an empirical investigation reveal that Erikson's notions of institutionalized moratoria, value orientation stages, and the ego-superego struggle for dominance of the personality are related to the identity status categories in a way that can be partially explained in terms of the degree to which an individual has experienced the identity crisis. Further explanations for the pattern of findings are offered in terms of Erikson's theory. These explanations clarify, to a degree, the nature of the identity statuses from a social psychological perspective.Received Ph.D. in Sociology from York University, Toronto, Canada. Research interests include the empirical investigation of Eriksonian theory, gender roles, the social psychology of organizations, and program evaluation.Received Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Research interests include the investigation of moral development from a social psychological perspective.     

Psychosocial development in three generations of college students

The college years are a time of significant growth in the individual's adaptive capacities in the cognitive, emotional, and social domains. Erikson 's theory of 1963 predicts that the college years are specifically a time of growth in the psychosocial issue of ego identity, but along with this development are increases in other aspects of psychosocial functioning. The opportunity to test this prediction across three cohorts of college students was presented through an expanded follow-up study of Constantinople's 1969 classic investigation of psychosocial development in a sample of over 300 undergraduates. Data were collected from undergraduates attending the same university in 1977 and 1988, allowing for a three-wave cross-sectional sequences design. The results indicated that, for all times of measurement and most of Erikson's psychosocial stages, college seniors generally had higher development than their younger classmates. Furthermore, females generally had higher psychosocial development scores than did males. The lack of cohort differences in the observed patterns of development and the minimal extent of cohort differences across college classes suggests that personality development during college is relatively uninfluenced by shifting psychosocial pressures over decades of social change.Received Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts. Research interest is human factors.Received Ph.D. from Columbia University. Research interest is psychosocial development in adulthood.     

Classroom Context,School Engagement,and Academic Achievement in Early Adolescence

Classroom context and school engagement are significant predictors of academic achievement. These factors are especially important for academically at-risk students. Grounded in an ecological systems perspective, this study examined links between classroom context, school engagement, and academic achievement among early adolescents. We took a multidimensional approach to the measurement of classroom context and school engagement, incorporating both observational and self-reported assessments of various dimensions of classroom context (instruction quality, social/emotional climate, and student–teacher relationship) and school engagement (psychological and behavioral engagement). Using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we tested whether school engagement mediated the link between classroom context and academic achievement among 5th grade students, and whether these pathways were the same for students with previous achievement difficulties identified in 3rd grade. Participants included 1,014 children (50% female) in 5th grade (mean age = 11). The majority of the participants were white (77%) and 23% were children of color. Results indicated that psychological and behavioral engagement mediated the link between classroom context and academic achievement for students without previous achievement difficulties. However, for students with previous achievement difficulties psychological and behavioral engagement did not mediate the link between classroom context and academic achievement. These results suggest that improving classroom quality may not be sufficient to improve student engagement and achievement for students with previous achievement difficulties. Additional strategies may be needed for these students.     

Sex differences in intellectual and ego development in late adolescence

Perry's scheme of intellectual and ethical development was examined for sex differences with respect to areas of identity concern for which sex differences have been suggested: occupational choice, interpersonal relationships, and sexual identity. The content area of religion and ego development, as measured by Loevinger's sentence completion test (SCT), were also examined. Thirty-one females and 29 males participated. An interview format which applied Perry's unstructured approach to each of the four areas was utilized. Transcribed interviews and SCTs were rated blind. Structural as well as content analyses were performed. Structural analyses revealed no significant sex differences overall or by content area. However, multiple and stepwise regression analyses revealed patterns in which male personality processes consistently focused upon occupational issues while female processes focused upon interpersonal and sexual issues. Ego development was found to be highly correlated with intellectual development for men but unrelated for women. Content analyses suggest that women focus their interpersonal worlds developmentally upon issues of trust while men focus upon issues of rightness. Results are interpreted in the context of recent works by Gilligan concerning sex differences in development.Completing his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Miami University. Current research interests include adolescent and female development and family therapy.Received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Florida. Current research interests include women's development, assessment, and psychotherapy.     

Fathers and sons: A study of ego identity across two generations

This study was designed to compare the relative frequencies of the various ego identity statuses across two generations and to determine the nature of the relationship between the identity statuses of fathers and their sons. Male college students and their fathers were given Marcia 's semistructured ego identity status interview. Generational comparisons revealed that the fathers were significantly more likely than their sons to be in the foreclosure category and were significantly less likely than their sons to be in the moratorium and diffusion statuses. No relationship was found between the identity statuses of fathers and their sons. Among the fathers, high levels of education were found to be associated with identity achievement, while low levels of education were associated with identity diffusion.     

Parental contexts of adolescent self-esteem: A developmental perspective

Relationships between parental behaviors and adolescent self-esteem were analyzed in a group of 95 early adolescents from multiple settings. The study was designed to investigate hypotheses regarding associations between observed parental interactions (e.g., accepting and devaluing) and adolescent self-esteem. Parents' verbal interactions with their adolescents were assessed through application of the constraining and enabling coding system to transcribed family discussions, generated through a revealed differences procedure. Adolescent self-esteem was measured with the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. Parent interaction-self-esteem associations were examined in the pooled sample, as well as in specific sub-groups based on gender, health, and ego development (measured by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test). Boys had more numerous associations between their self-esteem and parental interactions than girls, and psychiatrically ill boys had particularly high associations. Parental interactions were found to be most strongly related to adolescent self-esteem for adolescents at the lowest levels of ego development. Our findings are consistent with the view that increasing individuation in self-esteem regulation occurs during adolescent development, such that adolescents at higher levels of ego development evaluate themselves more independently of parental feedback than do their less mature peers.This study was supported through a Research Training Grant No. MH16259 (Dr. Isberg) from the NIMH, a grant from the National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD Grant No. 5 R01 HD18684-02), and a Research Scientis Development Award No. 5 K-02-MH-70178 (Dr. Hauser) from the NIMH.Received M.D. from Harvard University. Currently studying adolescent development and working with the school consultation program of the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.Received M.D. from Yale University and Ph.D. from Harvard University (Psychology). Currently studying family contexts of adolescent development.Received M.D. from The University of Chicago. Currently studying psychological consequences of diabetes mellitus.Received Ed. D. from Harvard University (School of Education). Currently studying family coping processes in response to stressful events.Received Dipl. Psych. from Freie Universitat, Berlin (Clinical Psychology). Currently studying relationships between psychopathology and development among adolescent psychiatric patients.Received Ph.D. from Ohio State University (Psychology). Current interests in assessing ego development and family systems.Received Ph.D. from the University of Miami (Clinical Psychology). Research interests in family studies and adolescent development.