The Role of Goal Orientation in Emerging Adult Identity Processing Styles

Abstract

Universities are considered to be settings for students to develop and transform themselves during emerging adulthood. A total of 1,236 university students (774 women, 462 men; M age = 21.54 years, SD age = 5.23 years) participated in a study examining the relation between students' identity processing style and goal orientation. Results indicated that an information-oriented identity style was associated with a mastery goal orientation, whereas a normative-oriented identity processing style was predictive of a greater concern with performance goals. The diffusion/avoidant identity style was not strongly related to any goal orientation. In addition, results showed that students in their junior or senior year in school (independent of social desirability tendencies) were more often classified as information oriented in their identity style compared with students in their freshman or sophomore year in school.