Identity Development and Academic Achievement in Early Adolescence

Abstract

Data from 208 sixth, seventh and eighth graders were analyzed to examine the relationship between academic achievement, school attendance, and identity development. Regression analysis results indicated that students who held higher Diffusion scores on the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOM-EIS) showed a lower absence rate and lower math achievement scores; those with higher Moratorium scores showed a higher absence rate and higher math scores; and those with higher EOM-EIS Interpersonal Achievement scores did better on the math achievement measure than did their peers. In addition, for those who scored higher on the Foreclosure scale, a negative relationship was demonstrated with absence, math scores, and language scores. These results indicated that the identity status of middle-level students bears a significant relationship to th1eir academic achievement, particularly for those who tend to score high on the measure of Foreclosure.