Gender differences in adolescent interpersonal identity formation

Gender differences in adolescent interpersonal identity formation were investigated in 41 male and 42 female high school juniors and seniors. Subjects were interviewed and assessed on progress toward interpersonal identity achievement in friendship and dating relationships. Differential patterns of correlation for each sex were examined for measures of vocational identity, psychological masculinity and femininity, and achievement motivation. Results indicated that young women were significantly more identity achieved than men in the friendship domain; no differences emerged in the dating domain. The processes of interpersonal and vocational identity formation appeared to be more interrelated for females than males. For both young men and women, expressive attributes of psychological femininity were positively related to interpersonal identity exploration. Different gender achievement orientations were revealed by positive correlations between several interpersonal identity ratings and mastery for males and lack of correlation between interpersonal identity and mastery for females. In addition, commitment to a conception regarding friendships was positively correlated with competitiveness for males and negatively correlated with competitiveness for females. Results are discussed in terms of Gilligan's (1982) theoretical work, which contrasts achievement of identity through separateness and autonomy with achievement of identity through connectedness and relationships.Doctoral candidate in counseling psychology, with special interest in sex roles and adult development.Received Ph.D. in child psychology from the University of Minnesota. Main interest is the influence of the family on adolescent personality development, especially identity and vocational interests.     

Gender issues in the interface of family experience and adolescents' friendship and dating identity

This study focuses on the role of family experience in adolescents' conception of the self in the context of friendship and dating relationships. Three issues are addressed: the extent of sex differences in adolescents' friendship and dating identity, how links between family experience and friendship and dating identity might differ for males and females, and whether mothers and fathers play distinctive roles in such development. A sample of Caucasian two-parent families, each including an adolescent who was a high school senior, was observed in a family interaction task designed to elicit the expression and coordination of a variety of points of view. Each adolescent was also given an interview assessing exploration and commitment in friendship and dating identity. Only one sex difference was found in identity, with females more committed in their conceptions of dating relationships than males. The key finding of the study concerns the distinctive patterns of family interaction associated with friendship and dating identity. For females, separateness in family interaction was related to their friendship identity exploration, whereas for males, the links between family interaction and exploration all involved connectedness. The different contingencies may reflect the interplay between different societal patterns of support and restriction of males' and females' exploration.This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD-92819 and HD-17983) and the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health and from the University Research Institute and the Institute of Human Development and Family Studies of the University of Texas at Austin.Received her Ph.D. in child psychology from the University of Minnesota. Research interests include the role of family and peer relationships in the development of individual and relational competence, and the interface of family, peer, and school contexts in the development of children and adolescents.Received his Ph.D. in child psychology from the University of Minnesota. Research interests include the role of the family in adolescent personality development and identity formation, career development, and adoptive family relationships.     

Identity in adolescence: Influences of dysfunction and psychosocial task issues

The Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (EPSI) was utilized in two studies to investigate task resolutions (trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, identity) in adolescence. In the first study, a comparison of delinquents and non-delinquents indicated that delinquents have less successful task resolutions. In the second study, a comparison of adolescents with high and low dysfunctional attitudes again revealed that troubled adolescents have less successful task resolutions. In this study, 7th graders, 12th graders, first-year college students, and junior and senior college students participated. Older adolescents demonstrated more successful task resolutions than younger adolescents, and different identity issues were salient during early adolescence as compared to later adolescence. Also, first-year college students had more problems with identity consolidation and less positive overall task resolutions than high school seniors or college juniors and seniors. A life-context approach to identity formation is discussed.Portions of this paper were presented at the first biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Madison, Wisconsin, March 1986, and at the Midwestern Psychological Association meetings, Chicago, Illinois, 1987 and 1989.M.A. degree in psychology from University of Toledo. Research interests: identity development, cognitive and perceptual development.Ph.D. from University of Toledo. Research interests: personality and cognitive development in adolescence, infant cognitive development.     

Moral judgment and sex role orientation as a function of self and other presentation mode

Gilligan's concern for a negative bias in assessing moral reasoning based on feminine interpersonal orientations and corresponding positive bias in favor of masculine orientations of justice and equity was explored. Bem's Sex Role Inventory provided a psychological index of orientation rather than only biological sex. College men and women completed Rest's moral dilemmas (DIT) in the usual manner-other condition-or assumed the role of the central character-self condition. The latter procedure augmented affective dimensions assumed to underlie orientation differences. Males in the other condition scored higher on the DIT than those in the self condition; females revealed the opposite pattern. Using the sex role categories, it appeared that androgynous males had higher DIT scores in the self condition than in the other condition, in direct contrast to the overall results for males. For females who were androgynous or masculine in orientation, the self condition resulted in higher DIT scores than the other condition. Generally, the greater affective demands in the self condition produced a higher frequency of Stage 3 use for men and women regardless of sex role orientation. The other condition showed a higher percentage of Stage 4 use among males and females independent of sex role orientation. Sex role orientation and affective arousal were discussed in terms of Gilligan's view of moral judgment development.Portions of this paper were presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, MA, April 1987.Received Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison Current research interests are logical concept development and moral and political development.Received Ph.D. from Purdue University. Current research interests are moral development and life-span changes in cognition.Received Ph.D. from Syracuse University. Current research interests are moral development and adult cognition.     

Sex differences in the relative importance of self-esteem,physical self-satisfaction,and identity in predicting adolescent satisfaction

Theoretical discussions of adolescence tend to emphasize the importance of physical development, self-views, and a transitional aspect of adolescence. Few research studies examine these variables in combination. The purpose of the present research was to examine the interrelationships of physical self-satisfaction, self-esteem, and identity in addition to their ability to predict satisfaction with an individual's social milieu. Multiple regression analyses were conducted for six groups consisting of eighth-, tenth-, and twelfth-grade males and females. While the prediction patterns yielded no differences for grade level, differences between males and females were found. Self-esteem was the best predictor for males, while identity and physical self-satisfaction were the best predictors for females.This research is based on the author's dissertation.Received her Ph.D. in educational psychology from Temple University in 1978. Main interest is adolescent development, especially social-emotional development.     

Gender Differences in Strains Associated with Suicidal Behavior Among Adolescents

Scholars such as Durkheim and Chodorow have argued that the social strains contributing to suicide vary by sex. Specifically, it has been asserted that women relative to men either do not respond to social strain with suicide, or respond to relational but not status strains. Conversely, others assert that process differences never existed, or at the least have dissipated with increasing equality between the subgroups. Neither side has offered convincing empirical evidence for their position. This study examines social strains contributing to suicidal behavior among adolescents, by sex, to address this debate. Results clearly support the presence of process differences and delineate the specific nature of these differences. Generally, males and females are responsive to both status and relational strains. However, theoretical models suggesting males are more status oriented whereas females are more relationally dependent are supported. Results hold theoretical and interventionist implications for the contextual nature of suicide among adolescents.     

Studies on identity development in adolescence: An overview of research and some new data

The fundamental developmental hypothesis of the identity status model is that as adolescents become older they undergo progressive developmental shifts in identity status: from diffusion to foreclosure or moratorium, from foreclosure to moratorium, and from moratorium to identity achievement. In Study I we give an overview of identity status studies carried out during the period 1966–1993 and show that progressive developmental trends (PDTs) are found in most of these studies. However, they usually involve progressive developmental trends in one of the higher or lower statuses (PDT 1), while only a small minority involve systematic progressive developmental trends, i.e., in at least three statuses (PDT3). It is easier to show progressive developmental trends with separate measures for commitment and exploration than with identity status classification. Study II reports on our own research into relational identity, measured with a new instrument: the Utrecht-Groningen Identity Development Scale (U-GIDS). Application of the U-GIDS allows the construction of four statuses: diffusion, moratorium, closed commitment and achieving commitment. For these four statuses progressive developmental trends were found for relational identity in both one of the higher and one of the lower statuses. The four statuses of our model display exactly the same connection with psychological well-being as the statuses of Marcia's model. The high commitment statuses show the highest level of psychological well-being, followed by the diffusions, while the moratoriums are the least happy. This result offers a new perspective on moratorium as a high identity status. Finally it was found that the differences in psychological well-being among the statuses become greater as adolescents become older.This research was supported by a grant from the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) to the Utrecht Study on Adolescent Development (USAD) 1991–1997.Research interests include personality and social development in adolescence.     

Sex differences in identity and intimacy development in college youth

This study examined sex differences in the processes of identity and intimacy development among college youth. Fifty males, and 50 females were given measures of identity status, intimacy status, and self-esteem. Males were found to focus on intrapersonal aspects of identity status, intimacy status, and self-esteem. Males were found to focus on intrapersonal aspects of identity, females on interpersonal aspects. The pursuit of various identity development pathways affected self-esteem differentially for the two sexes. More females than males were found to be intimate and the achievement of intimacy seemed more closely related to identity in males than in females. The findins were interpreted in the context of Eriksonian theory, which seemed more adequate in explaining male than female development.This article is based in part on the doctoral dissertation by James W. Hodgson in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy degree, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.Received his Ph. D. in human development and family studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Current research interests include normative and dysfunctional development of late adolescence.Received her Ph.D. in social personality psychology from the University of Colorado. Current research interests include the developments of friendships and sex roles in adolescence.     

Identity Development and Attachment to Parents in College Students

Previous research reveals the need to study adolescents' levels of exploration and commitment instead of overall identity categories for the purpose of identifying developmental trends in identity development. Similarly, attachment research points to the importance of considering separate measures of attachment to mother and attachment to father, as well as considering gender differences in attachment to parents. We tested the hypothesis regarding the relative levels of the identity-related constructs of commitment and exploration in relationship to adolescent males' and females' attachment to parents. The self-report data from 100 first-year college students suggests that females had significantly higher levels of exploration and commitment than the male subjects. Females' identity development was related to attachment relationships to parents, especially attachment to mother, while males' identity development was unrelated to attachment to either parent. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the development of university student services.     

Black and white identity development: Aspects and perspectives

Empirical definitions of identity formation, and five variants, were constructed using a technique for studying multiple self-images. The method was then applied to a sample of black and white lower socioeconomic class boys. These boys were tested with this technique and given in-depth interviews twice a year, from the start to the finish of high school. The results of these longitudinal studies disclose that the black and white adolescents have emphatically differentpatterns of identity formation. The blacks are characterized by unchanging configurations of self-images. Both the content of their self-definitions and the interrelations for these self-definitions remain strikingly stable over the years. The whites, on the other hand, display a progressive integration of different self-images and stabilization of the content of these images. The more qualitative interview data corroborate these quantitative findings. The patterns displayed by the blacks are consistent with the definition of identity foreclosure, a disruption in ego identity development. The whites' patterns, however, are consistent with progressive identity formation. In addition to discussing these results, the paper goes on to consider ways to understand the findings. Sociocultural as well as cognitive aspects of the racial differences in identity development are explored.This is a revised version of a presentation to the Fall Meeting of the American Psychoanalytical Association, December 16, 1970. The earlier version was also the recipient of the Harry C. Solomon Essay Prize at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, June 1970.Received M.A. (Social Anthropology) from Harvard University and M.D. from Yale University. Currently studying self-image and cognitive development in populations of normal and psychiatrically impaired adolescents.     

Bridging the gap: the effect of gender normativity on differences in empathy and emotional intelligence

Self-report measures of empathy and emotional intelligence have frequently revealed significant gender differences, with females typically scoring higher than males on these dimensions. In this study, we investigated whether, in line with a social identity approach, manipulating the gender normativity of empathy and emotional intelligence would ameliorate typically observed differences. Male and female participants (N = 330) were randomly assigned to read one of three narratives comprising fictitious neurological research evidence which claimed that males (Condition 1) or females (Condition 2) or neither males nor females (Condition 3) scored higher on measures of empathy and emotional intelligence. Results indicated that, in Conditions 2 and 3, females scored significantly higher than males on self-reported empathy. However, when information suggested that males were superior to females (Condition 1), no significant gender differences in self-reported empathy were observed. A similar pattern was found for emotional intelligence, however the predicted interaction effect failed to reach significance. The role of social context in determining gender differences in emotional functioning is discussed with particular reference to gender differences in motivation.     

Occupational identity status development,gender comparisons,and internal-external control in first-year air force cadets

This study of cadets at the United States Air Force Academy during their first six months assessed the pattern of developmental changes in occupational identity status for males and females, examined the relationship of internal-external control to identity statuses, and discussed the data in terms of Erikson's proposals and factors involved in gender differences in identity development. More than half of the cadets entering the academy were in uncommitted occupational identity statuses. Over the time period, half the cadets remained in their identity statuses, with the Foreclosed cadets the most stable and Achieved the least stable. The expected changes in the Achieved identity status, and other changes, established a pattern of identity development congruent with Erikson's theory of developmental progress or regression in identity formation. Only male cadets demonstrated significant changes into or out of a status, and significant associations between their identity statuses and internal-external control, with more internally controlled males being Achieved and more externally controlled males being Diffused-diffused.The views expresed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Air Force or the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado.Received Ph.D. from State University of New York at Buffalo. Research interests: Adolescent development, gifted creative, cognitive development.Received Ph.D. from Kent State University. Research interests: research, statistics, and educational technology.     

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.     

Family learning environment: The subjective view of adolescent males and females

This study investigates sex differences in two aspects of family learning environment as subjectively viewed by adolescents: parents' educational expectations and relationships with parents. Analysis of the data collected from 105 young Israeli adolescents (65 males and 40 females) shows sex differences in both aspects of family learning environment. These differences are (a) a negative relation between idealistic expectations and academic performance for females and a positive relation between realistic expectations and academic performance for males, and (b) a positive relation between estimated similarity with father and academic performance for females and a negative relation between social emotional relationship with father and academic performance for males. These sex differences are viewed in light of the greater complexity of female identity as it is related to low achieving females' perceived pressure to improve academic performance and high achieving females' feeling closer to their fathers.Received Ph.D. from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Current research interests include social aspects of adolescents' development and schooling with special emphasis on adolescents' self-image and future time orientation.     

The Role of Gender in Adolescent Identity and Intimacy Decisions

This study explored the relative importance of identity and intimacy in male and female adolescent decisions. One hundred twenty adolescents responded to 16 identity/intimacy dilemmas. Females had higher identity (and lower intimacy) scores than males. Identity scores were higher in scenarios with female protagonists. A content analysis of decision explanations showed females gave more explanations than males with identity and intimacy fused. Implications for theories of psychosocial development are discussed.     

Sex differences in the resolution of the identity crisis

Based on Erikson's view of the importance of inner space in feminine identity, researchers have added an interview on premarital sex to the standard ego identity interview on occupation, religion, and politics used for males. This study was designed to investigate the relative importance of premarital sexual ideology for males and females, as well as sex differences in identity status on occupation, religion, and politics. Marcia's semi-structured ego identity status interview was given to 70 male and 70 female college students, with premarital sex questions included for both sexes. Consistent with Erikson's theory, females were more likely than males to have experienced a sexual identity crisis, whereas males were very likely to be foreclosed in this area. Males as well as females were more likely to be committed about sex than about any other area. In all areas except sex, female identity followed basically the same pattern as male identity.Received her Ph.D. from State University of New York at Buffalo. Current research interests are ego identity and human sexuality.Received his Ph. D. from State University of New York at Albany. Current research interests are mental health evaluation and behavior therapy.     

Identity and intimacy: An initial investigation of three theoretical models using cross-lag panel correlations

This investigation specified three models regarding the association between identity and intimacy formation and investigated their potential validity using a longitudinal cross-lag panel design. Seventy-one males and 71 females completed identity and intimacy measures on two occasions over a 5-week period. The primary findings are (1) individuals with a clear sense of identity are more likely, 5 weeks later, to have a more advanced sense of intimacy for both sexes when sex-role identification is removed from gender comparisons; (2) sex-role orientation mediates the identity/intimacy association, while for females, a masculine orientation is associated with a pattern similar to that observed for either masculine- or feminine-oriented males; and (3) femininity is associated with a more fused connection between identity and intimacy for females. This report provides an initial investigation studying the identity/intimacy association during late adolescence based on three theoretical perspectives. Theoretical interpretations and conclusions are offered.Partial support for this project was provided by grants to the second author from the Utah State University Agricultural Experiment Station and the Office of Research, Utah State University. Approved as journal paper No. 3917.Research interests are adolescent identity development in the family context, adolescent sexuality, and sex-role development.Research interests focus on personality and social development during adolescence.     

Erikson stage resolution: The relationship between identity and intimacy

Ego identity and intimacy statuses were determined for 88 college students, 44 men and 44 women, and related to each other and to measures of intimacy, loving, and liking. As hypothesized, more advanced stages of identity development were associated with higher levels of intimacy formation. Further, for both males and females, occupational identity development was the primary predictive factor in the identity/intimacy stage resolution relationship.Received her M. S. from Utah State University.Received his M. A. in psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and his Ph.D. in human development from The Pennsylvania State University.     

Sex differences in the identity formation of college students from divorced families

This study was desgined to examine gender differences in identity formation in late adolescents from divorced mother-custody families. Fifty-seven female and thirty-nine male college students ranging in age from 17 to 25 years completed the Child's Report of Parental Behavior [E. S. Schaeffer (1965) Children's Reports of Parental Behavior: An Inventory, Child Development, Vol. 36, pp. 412–482] and were interviewed using the J. E. Marcia [(1966) Development and Validation of Ego Identity Status, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 3, pp. 551–558] semistructured Identity Status Interview. While no differences between males and females were found in ratings of overall identity status, significantly more females were in the achieved category within the domains of occupation and attitudes toward premarital sex. Also, males perceived their mothers as significantly more accepting and less controlling than did females. The absence of the father and the altered role of the mother appear to have a differential impact on males and females who have grown up in mother-custody families. Implications of these and other findings are discussed.Received Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College Columbia University. Research interests include adolescent identity formation, the intersection and integration of personal and career counseling, and career development.     

Identity status in university women: A methodological note

Studies of correlates of identity status among university students indicate that males who have or are currently considering occupational and ideological alternatives exhibit characteristics superior to those who have not explored alternatives. Results with university women have suggested that females currently exploring alternatives do not show the positive characteristics associated with that status among males. An hypothesis is presented that differences in findings between sexes may be due to methodological procedures involving selection of differing aged samples. Evidence is presented to support the view that the exploration of alternatives has similar positive meaning for both males and females.Received B. Sc. in Psychology from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York; M. Sc. in Developmental Psychology from the New York State College at Cortland; Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Professional research interests are Piagetian and Eriksonian conceptions of adolescence and cognitive and personality development in children from a cognitivesocial learning perspective.