What Transits in an Identity Status Transition?

Abstract

This article examines the question of what transits in an ego identity status transition. It is argued that Marcia's (1966, 1967) ego identity statuses have different underlying structural organizations in the tradition of neo-Piagetian structural stage models (Snarey, Kohlberg, & Noam, 1983). It is also argued that it is necessary to differentiate structure underlying the ego identity statuses from identity content to understand the meaning of ego identity status transitions during adolescent and adult life. Processes of change for both identity structure as well as identity content are proposed on the basis of qualitative case studies. Means of best assessing structural organizations underlying the ego identity statuses are proposed. Defining the actual organizational structures underlying the ego identity statuses presents a challenging and fruitful direction for future identity research.