Sexual Attraction, Sexual Identity, and Psychosocial Wellbeing in a National Sample of Young Women During Emerging Adulthood

Identity-based conceptualizations of sexual orientation may not account adequately for variation in young women’s sexuality. Sexual minorities fare worse in psychosocial markers of wellbeing (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety, self esteem, social support) than heterosexual youth; however, it remains unclear whether these health disparities exclusively affect individuals who adopt a sexual minority identity or if they also may be present among heterosexually-identified youth who report same-sex attractions. We examined the relationship between sexual attraction, sexual identity, and psychosocial wellbeing in the female only subsample (weighted, n = 391) of a national sample of emerging adults (age 18–24). Women in this study rated on a scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely) their degree of sexual attraction to males and females, respectively. From these scores, women were divided into 4 groups (low female/low male attraction, low female/high male attraction, high female/low male attraction, or high female/high male attraction). We explored the relationship between experiences of attraction, reported sexual identity, and psychosocial outcomes using ordinary least squares regression. The results indicated sexual attraction to be predictive of women’s psychosocial wellbeing as much as or more than sexual identity measures. We discuss these findings in terms of the diversity found in young women’s sexuality, and how sexual minority status may be experienced by this group.     

Ego identity status and values among high school females

To test the hypothesis that adolescent females who are high in ego identity have high interests in religious and political values, the relationship between the ego identity status of 80 senior high school females and their response to the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values was examined. Participants classified as being identity achievements, moratoriums, and foreclosures had higher religious value scores than did diffusions; however, the expected differences on political value scores were not found. Two-thirds of the identity achievers came from homes disrupted by divorce or death of one parent, while less than 20% of the members of the other three statuses came from broken homes.This report is based on the first author's M.A. thesis, which was submitted to the Graduate School, Texas Woman's University, 1978.Received her M.A. from Texas Woman's University. Major interests are ego identity formation and female adolescent development.Received Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Major interests are developmental effects of stress and neurophysiology.     

A longitudinal study of ego identity development at a liberal arts college

Ego identity development in the areas of occupational choice, religion, and political ideology was studied using Marcia's categorization system. The results indicated a significant increase in the frequency of the identity achiever status for occupational choice and corresponding decreases in the frequency of the moratorium and identity diffusion statuses. A significant decrease in the frequency of foreclosures on religion was also found. In those instances where students underwent an identity crisis, the probability of resolving it successfully was very high. High scores on the Cultural Sophistication scale of the College Student Questionnaire-Part 1 were found to be associated with presence in the identity achievement status. For students not in the achiever status as freshmen, an interest in various literary and art forms was predictive of becoming an achiever while in college.Received his Ph.D. from SUNY/Buffalo. Recent research has been mainly concerned with the development of ego identity and with techniques for resolving identity crises.Received his Ph.D. from Syracuse University. Recent research has been mainly concerned with personality moderators of human judgment.     

Correlates of self-concept among black early adolescents

This study examines the self-concept of Black eighth-grade students from the Midwest in relation to Black acceptance, social intimacy, locus of control, and sex-role type. Twenty-eight students high in self-concept were compared with 31 students whose self-concept was low. As predicted, the high self-concept group scored higher than the low self-concept group in intimacy, internality, and acceptance of black identity. As also predicted, the high self-concept group had a significantly greater number of adolescents with masculine and androgynous sex roles than the low self-concept group; Black females with high self-concepts included a larger proportion of individuals with androgynous sex roles than low self-concept females. However, the prediction that high self-concept males would have a larger proportion of masculine sex roles than low self-concept males was not supported. The difficult situation of the low self-concept adolescents is discussed, along with the implications for intervention.On clinic internship at Smolian Psychiatric Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. Major interests are clinical psychology and Black identity.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Colorado. Major interests are the development of intimacy and identity in adolescence and young adulthood.     

Sex differences in patterns of self-disclosure among adolescents: A developmental perspective

The purpose of this study is to explore relationships among sex, target, and aspects of adolescent self-disclosure. An adaptation of the Journal and Lasakow (1958) Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (SDQ) was administered to 97 secondary school volunteers with same-sex friend and opposite-sex friend as specified targets. SDQ scores were obtained for a stratified random sample of 30 Ss matched with volunteers for school, grade, age, and sex. Results indicated no sex differences in total disclosure; Ss disclosed differentially to same-sex and opposite-sex friend. Female same-sex disclosure was greater than male same-sex disclosure. A high disclosure cluster for females was Tastes and Interests and Personality; for males it was Tastes and Interests, Work (Studies), and Attitudes and Opinions. These findings reflect patterns for volunteers and nonvolunteers, suggesting that volunteering was not a factor in obtained outcomes. Sex differences in aspects of disclosure are discussed in terms of sex-role variations in establishment of ego identity.The larger study from which the data under discussion were drawn is entitled Cognitive Self-Modeling, Conventional Group Counselling and Change in Interpersonal Communication Skills. Two co-investigators were involved in the study—J. G. Schachter and W. E. Reitz. In addition, research assistance was provided throughout the study by K. H. Hough. A detailed summary of all demographic data is available upon request from the author.(King's College is affiliated with the University of Western Ontario.) Received Ph.D. from The Institute for Child Study, University of Maryland. Main interests are child development and counseling.     

Separation-individuation and ego identity status in New Zealand university students

This study explores intrapsychic structures underlying Marcia's ego identity statuses in terms of separation-individuation patterns. It was hypothesized that achievement and moratorium adolescents would give greater evidence of intrapsychic differentiation on a projective measure of separation anxiety than would foreclosure or diffusion youths. Marcia's Ego Identity Status Interview and Hansburg's Separation Anxiety Test were administered to 80 female and 60 male volunteers at a New Zealand university. All were under 23 years of age. As predicted, high statuses showed less anxiety than secure attachment or detachment. Contrary to expectation, no differences among attachment styles appeared for low statuses. Difficulties in adapting the identity status interview to the New Zealand context may partially explain these results. A measure of intrapsychic differentiation provides a useful supplement to the identity status interview.This research was supported by a grant from the Internal Research Committee, Victoria University of Wellington. Parts of this research were presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Toronto, 1985.Received Ph.D in child development from Florida State University in 1977. Current research interest is identity formation from a lifespan perspective.     

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.     

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.     

Identity Statuses Based on 4 Rather Than 2 Identity Dimensions: Extending and Refining Marcia's Paradigm

Four identity dimensions (Commitment Making, Identification with Commitment, Exploration in Depth, and Exploration in Breadth) were used to derive identity statuses by means of cluster analysis in a sample of late adolescents. This strategy resulted in both a qualitative refinement and a quantitative extension of Marcia's (1966) model. Five clusters were retained. Four of those (the Achievement, Moratorium, Foreclosure, and Diffused Diffusion Cluster) bore a striking resemblance to Marcia's original identity statuses in terms of their definition and their associations with criterion variables. Adolescents in the fifth cluster, the Carefree Diffusion Cluster (low to moderate on both commitment dimensions and low on both exploration dimensions), scored as high as the 2 high Commitment Making clusters (i.e., the Achievement and Foreclosure Cluster) on several indicators of adjustment. Personality characteristics further differentiated these clusters in accordance with theory. The advantages of expanding the identity status paradigm, through additional distinctions that pertain to both commitment and exploration, are discussed and practical implications are outlined. Doctoral Researcher for the Special Research Fund (B.O.F.)—Flanders (Belgium). Current research focuses on adolescent identity formation and development. Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium. Received PhD in developmental psychology from the Catholic University Leuven, Belgium, 1988. Current research interests include adolescent identity, autonomy, and loneliness. Doctoral Researcher for the Fund of Scientific Research (F.W.O.)—Flanders (Belgium) at the Catholic University Leuven, Belgium. Research interests include parent–adolescent relationships, identity processes, and acculturation orientations of ethnic minority members. Postdoctoral Researcher for the Fund of Scientific Research (F.W.O.)—Flanders (Belgium). Received PhD in developmental psychology from the Catholic University Leuven, Belgium, 2001. Current research focuses on adolescent autonomy, parenting and mediators of parenting effects on individuation and identity. Doctoral Researcher for the Fund of Scientific Research (F.W.O.)—Flanders (Belgium) at the Catholic University Leuven, Belgium. Research interests include motivational processes, self-determination theory, parent–adolescent relationships, and identity processes.     

The impact of the identity crisis on the adjustment of late adolescent males

The relationship between ego identity status and MMPI scores was investigated using 73 college males. Identity status was assessed using a semistructured interview. The results obtained indicated that subjects in the identity achievement status obtained MMPI scores which fell within the normal range of functioning. Subjects currently involved in working on identity issues (moratorium status) obtained a pattern of scores indicating the presence of psychological conflict, as did foreclosure subjects—that is, subjects who are characterized by rigid adherence to parental norms and values. Subjects who had not successfully resolved their identity crisis (identity diffusion status) had MMPI scores within the normal range. The findings partly support Erikson's theorizing on ego identity and indicate that further analysis and refinement of Marcia's typology is required. Results from the present study also indicate that future research with male subjects on ego identity status should include some assessment of sexual attitudes.This research was partly supported by research grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF-USDP No. GU 1598) and a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH 16899). The senior author was supported by a National Science Foundation traineeship during the time this study was performed.Clinical psychology graduate student, doing research on adolescent personality development from an Eriksonian perspective.Received Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Current research is on adolescent personality development from an Eriksonian perspective.     

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.     

The Development of Ethnic/Racial Self-Labeling: Individual Differences in Context

Ethnic/racial self-labeling represents one’s knowledge of and preference for ethnic/racial group membership, which is related to, but distinguishable from, ethnic/racial identity. This study examined the development of ethnic/racial self-labeling over time by including the concept of elaboration among a diverse sample of 297 adolescents (Time 1 mean age 14.75, 67% female, 37.4% Asian or Asian American, 10.4% Black, African American, or West Indian, 23.2% Hispanic or Latinx, 24.2% White, 4.4% other). Growth mixture modeling revealed two distinct patterns—low and high self-labeling elaboration from freshman to sophomore year of high school. Based on logistic regression analyses, the level of self-labeling elaboration was generally low among the adolescents who were foreign-born, reported low levels of ethnic/racial identity exploration, or attended highly diverse schools. We also found a person-by-context interaction where the impact of school diversity varied for foreign-born and native-born adolescents (b?=?12.81, SE?=?6.30, p?<?0.05) and by the level of ethnic/racial identity commitment (b?=?14.32, SE?=?6.65, p?<?0.05). These findings suggest varying patterns in ethnic/racial self-labeling elaboration among adolescents from diverse backgrounds and their linkage to individual and contextual factors.     

Exploration and commitment: Sex differences and methodological problems in the use of identity status categories

The identity crisis of adolescence can be thought of as involving two processes: an exploration among alternatives and a making of commitments. Ninety-nine Danish youth were assessed for degrees of exploration and of commitment in four areas: occupation, values, politics, and sex roles. Sex differences were investigated. Contrary to Erikson's theory, sexual ideology did not appear more central to women's identity formation. For both sexes, the struggle with sex roles and the search for values were the most powerful predictors of ten dependent personality variables. The study demonstrated the importance of exploration and commitment as variables in identity process in another culture, and suggested that a direct scaling of these variables is superior to the use of Marcia's category system.This report is based on data collected in a study funded by the Humanistic Research Council of Denmark. The first analysis of data was reported in their publication in 1974. Copies of the initial report and reprints of this article can be obtained from the author.Teaches master's candidates in counseling and has a small private practice. Received his Ph.D. in psychology and pastoral counseling from Boston University. Main interest is adolescent identity.     

Identity development in interracial,Asian/white late adolescents: Must it be so problematic?

The present study examines the extent to which Asian/white late adolescents are an at-risk group whose identity development is significantly different from Asian or white identity development. The centrality of race and ethnicity to Asian/white identity formation is also explored. Fifty-one Asian/white, Asian, and white college students were administered Marcia's Identity Interview (1966), with a section on race, and Mar's Asian Values Scale (1988). Asian/white subjects did not possess significantly different identity statuses than Asians or whites. Asian/white subjects held values similar to Asians on the Asian Values Scale, but rated race as significantly less important in identity formation than did Asian subjects. In some contexts, then, Asian/white subjects may not be as at-risk as previously thought. In the present study, Asian/whites had positively resolved racial issues such that race was no longer a matter of daily contention.This research was done as part of the requirement for the B.A. with Honors degree in Psychology from Amherst College.Current research interests include cross-cultural psychology and family relationships.     

Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers’ Stressors and Psychosocial Functioning: Examining Ethnic Identity Affirmation and Familism as Moderators

Mexican-origin adolescent mothers are at increased risk for poor psychosocial functioning as a result of various stressors with which they must contend; however, existing theory suggests that cultural strengths may help mitigate the negative effects of stress. As such, the current study examined the associations between cultural and economic stressors and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ (N = 207; M age = 16.23 years, SD = 1.0) internalizing and externalizing behaviors, as well as the degree to which ethnic identity affirmation and familism values moderated these links. Adolescent mothers who reported higher levels of discrimination, acculturative stress, and economic stress also reported higher depressive symptoms and greater involvement in risky behaviors. Importantly, ethnic identity affirmation minimized the negative associations between cultural stressors and adolescents’ involvement in risky behaviors, with the associations being weakest among adolescents with high levels of ethnic identity. Familism appeared to serve a protective function under conditions of low levels of discrimination, but not under conditions of high levels of discrimination. Findings are discussed with special attention to the developmental and cultural contexts in which these adolescent mothers’ lives are embedded, and implications for future research and practice are presented.     

Rural adolescents' perceived personal risks for suicide

Rural adolescents' suicidal cognitions were assessed while conducting a larger project on risk perception. This allowed for a more indirect (less reactive) method of assessment than is typical in related research. High school students (n=455) rated on a 7-point scale their personal risks for 24 lethal events, including suicide. Over half the adolescents (56%) reported some risk for suicide, of which 12% reported that their subjective risk was quite likely. The rates are consistent with prevalence rates for suicidal ideations obtained from studies using more direct methods of assessment. Public high school students were significantly more likely to report serious suicide risks than parochial high school students. This finding is discussed in the context of Durkheim's proposition that religions deter self destructive impulses.Received Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Research interest: adolescents' perceptions of risks.Received Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. Research interests: in the areas of identity, self, and personality.     

Stages of identity development and problem drinking in college women

Deviation from age-appropriate identity-developmental stage and problem drinking in 75 undergraduate women was investigated. A quantity/frequency scale assessed problem drinking. Two measures of identity, one projective and one observational, were used. May's Deprivation/Enhancement fantasy pattern measure assessed sexual identity. The College Women's Assertion Sample assessed the cognitive-style component of identity. The results supported the hypotheses that younger (freshman/sophomore) women deviating from their age-appropriate identity stage of dedifferentiation, and older (junior/senior) women deviating from their age-appropriate stage of identity integration, were significantly more likely to experience drinking problems than were women who had entered their age-appropriate identity stages. The findings support psychodynamic theories of identity development in late adolescence, and suggest that problem-drinking women in different age/ developmental stages of identity drink for different reasons and should be treated differently.Doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Teaching Associate with the Psychological Services Center there. She has also served on the clinical staff of the Amherst College Counseling Center, the Community Care Mental Health Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the Franklin/Hampshire Community Mental Health Center in Northampton, Massachusetts. Her primary interest is in the area of identity development in women.Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Clinical Fellow of the American Psychological Association. She has held faculty appointments at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, the University of Hawaii, the University of Connecticut, and Smith College. Her primary interests are in the areas of statistics and assessment, and clinical gerontology.     

Development of an objective measure to assess ego identity in adolescence: Validation and replication

Three studies that evaluate the reliability and validity of the Extended Version of the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Adams and Grotevant, 1983) are reported. In Studies 1 and 2, college students in Texas and Utah, respectively, completed the identity measure, the Extended Range Vocabulary Test, and the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale and released achievement results from their college records. The identity measure was found to have acceptable reliability (both internal consistency and test-retest) and validity (content, factorial, discriminant, and concurrent). In Study 3, scale scores from the objective identity measure correlated in the predicted pattern with ratings of identity exploration and commitment made from the Ego Identity Interview. Although the objective measure is not intended to replace the interview, it would appear to be useful in a number of situations where administration of the interview is impractical.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Dan Tousley in the data collection and data analysis phases of this research. Data collection and analyses for Study 3 were provided by grants from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the University of Texas Research Institute, and the University of Texas Institute of Human Development and Family Studies to Harold D. Grotevant and Catherine Cooper, Co-Principal Investigators.Study 2 was supported by the W144 regional research grant on The Development of Social Competency in Children with funding from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Utah State University Agricultural Experiment Station, directed by Gerald Adams.Received Ph.D. in child psychology from the University of Minnesota. Research interests concern the contribution of family relationships to personality and identity development in adolescence.Received Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. Research interests include adolescent social and personality development.     

Identity Styles,Positive Youth Development,and Civic Engagement in Adolescence

Identity formation is a core developmental task of adolescence. Adolescents can rely on different social-cognitive styles to seek, process, and encode self-relevant information: information-oriented, normative, and diffuse-avoidant identity styles. The reliance on different styles might impact adolescents’ adjustment and their active involvement in the society. The purpose of this study was to examine whether adolescents with different identity styles report differences in positive youth development (analyzed with the Five Cs—Competence, Confidence, Character, Connection, and Caring—model) and in various forms of civic engagement (i.e., involvement in school self-government activities, volunteering activities, youth political organizations, and youth non-political organizations). The participants were 1,633 (54.1 % female) 14–19 years old adolescents (M _age  = 16.56, SD _age  = 1.22). The findings indicated that adolescents with different identity styles differed significantly on all the Five Cs and on two (i.e., involvement in volunteering activities and in youth non-political organizations) forms of civic engagement. Briefly, adolescents with an information-oriented style reported high levels of both the Five Cs and civic engagement; participants with a normative style reported moderate to high scores on the Five Cs but low rates of civic engagement; diffuse-avoidant respondents scored low both on the Five Cs and on civic engagement. These findings suggest that the information-oriented style, contrary to the diffuse-avoidant one, has beneficial effects for both the individual and the community, while the normative style has quite beneficial effects for the individual but not for his/her community. Concluding, adolescents with different identity styles display meaningful differences in positive youth development and in rates of civic engagement.     

培育青年学生践行社会主义核心价值观的路径

社会主义核心价值观是青年学生的精神追求。社会实践是青年学生培育和践行社会主义核心价值观的重要路径。青年学生在社会实践中加深理性认同,增进情感认同,强化行为认同,提高社会主义核心价值观的认同度。将社会主义核心价值观教育融入课程学习社会实践、校园社会实践和校外社会实践,增强青年学生社会主义核心价值观的践行力。积极创新社会实践路径,实现青年学生社会主义核心价值观"内化于心"和"外化于行"的统一。