Adult Identity Development Research Articles

Knowing Me, Knowing You: Changes in Parental Representations Among Established Adults Going Through Progressive Identity Development

AbstractDeveloping and revising one’s identity is a lifelong task, one that influences and is influenced by close relationships in the individual’s social context. For emerging adults, different approaches to identity formation have been associated with different ways of relating to their parents; however, little is known about how identity development and views on one’s parents interact beyond the emerging adult years. In the present study, we addressed this gap by examining changes in how established adults describe and relate to internal representations of their parents as they develop from identity foreclosure to identity achievement, an identity status transition that is considered progressive and has been related to shifts in parental representations in younger samples. From a longitudinal study using the Identity Status Interview (Marcia et al., Ego identity: A handbook for psychosocial research, Springer, 1993), we selected participants coded as foreclosed at age 29 and identity achieved at age 33 (N = 18). A case study approach was used to analyze individual changes in parental representations, and a thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes across cases. The findings show that progressive identity development in established adulthood may involve making more reflective comparisons between oneself and one’s parents, describing one’s parents more as whole persons, and relating to parental influence with greater independence and agency. The results highlight the continued importance of parents for adult identity development, and that progressive identity development in established adulthood may involve increased complexity in representations of both oneself and one’s parents.

Does Employment Status Matter for Emerging Adult Identity Development and Life Satisfaction? A Two-wave Longitudinal Study

Late emerging adulthood is pivotal for identity exploration and development and is interrelated with life satisfaction. In the development of identity and life satisfaction, it is important to have a stable employment status that supports the foundation of life. However, the interrelationships among identity, life satisfaction, and employment status in late emerging adulthood are unclear. Using a two-wave longitudinal survey, this study examined identity development and whether the relationship between identity and life satisfaction varies by employment status. Participants included 875 Japanese emerging adults (65.5% women, Mage = 24.74, SDage = 0.44). Multivariate analysis of variance showed that identity synthesis decreased for those who lost their jobs or those who changed from being full-time to part-time employment. Additionally, individuals with full-time employment had higher identity synthesis and lower confusion than those with part-time or no employment. Multi-group path analysis indicated that identity synthesis was positively associated with life satisfaction and confusion was negatively associated, and these relationships did not differ by employment status. These findings suggest that identity development in late emerging adulthood varies by employment status and that the association between identity and life satisfaction may not be moderated by employment status. Overall, this study contributes to elucidating the characteristics of identity development along employment status and its relationship to life satisfaction in late emerging adulthood.

A conceptual review of identity integration across adulthood.

Though Erikson recognized identity development as a lifelong project, most research on identity has focused on adolescents and emerging adults. Less is known about how the identity formed in adolescence is maintained and adapted across the adult life span. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a conceptual review and elaboration of Erikson's (1968) theory focused on identity integration, a construct that is particularly relevant to adult identity development. Identity integration describes the process of bringing together various aspects of one's self into a coherent whole, and the sense of self-continuity and wholeness that emerges as a result of these processes. Informed by the identity and life span development literatures, we present a conceptual framework that describes how identity integration is maintained across the adult life span, and how it is reestablished when changing life circumstances present threats to an individual's identity. These maintenance and reestablishment processes help to support adults' well-being and adaptation to major life transitions and stressful events. This conceptual framework is intended to facilitate research on identity integration in adulthood, a time of life that has been less often studied in the identity literature but that can involve identity dynamics that are just as critical as those in adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring illness identity among children and youth living with cancer: A narrative review.

Children and youth with cancer may find it challenging to integrate illness into their pre-existing identity-a phenomenon known as illness identity. In this critical narrative review, we explored illness identity among children and youth with cancer. Three academic databases were searched. Twenty-two articles were included in this review and each underwent thematic analysis. Cancer has both positive and negative influences on the identities of children and youth. Illness identity is expressed creatively through various communicative outlets. Further, external processes such as social support may influence cancer identity. A few studies cited cancer as a hindrance to adult identity development. Cancer has a profound impact on identity formation among children and youth. Many normative assumptions about time, identity, and child and youth development underlie the existing literature. Future researchers may adopt a critical lens to be inclusive of diverse identity experiences among children and youth with cancer.

“He was like, my ride or die”: Sexual and Gender Minority Emerging Adults’ Perspectives on Living With Pets During the Transition to Adulthood

This qualitative study explores the benefits and risks associated with living with companion animals during the transition to adulthood among 117 sexual and gender minority (SGM) emerging adults living in the U.S. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using template analysis. Thematic analysis identified several risks (caregiver burden, pets as barriers to relationships, animal-related psychological stress) and benefits (pets as a buffer to stress, pets as social capital, pets as a coping mechanism for mental health, and pets as identity and purpose) associated with living with pets. Our results suggest that pets may influence SGM emerging adult identity development and related wellbeing by facilitating feelings of belongingness, positive self-regard, and purpose; promoting social interactions; and providing emotional support and comfort to cope with stress. However, pets, and their associated care, were also a source of caregiving burden and psychological stress. We discuss practice and policy implications and directions for future research.

Determinants of ethnic identity development in adulthood: A longitudinal study.

Ethnic identity is defined in terms of the interaction between exploration of and commitment to a given cultural background. The present study investigated the effect of individual background, role transitions, and the social environment on the development of ethnic identity in a sample of German adults aged 21-73 years (N = 2,940). Additionally, identity transitions and the moderating effect of disequilibrating life events on identity over time were examined (N = 827). Overall, results are consistent with findings for other identity domains: Respondents could be assigned to one of four identity stages, ranging from unexamined to achieved identity. Particularly, the individual background and the extent of community involvement affected ethnic identity formation in adulthood. Longitudinal analyses revealed that only one-third of respondents had remained in the same identity stage; most individuals had transitioned forward or backward. Changes in ethnic identity were not moderated by disequilibrating life events.

Understanding emerging adult identity development through work at a residential outdoor environmental education program: an application of social practice theory

Most previous research on residential outdoor environmental education (ROEE) programs has focused on the outcomes associated with student participation in these learning experiences. In contrast to these previous studies, this research takes an interpretivist approach to understand how work as a short-term instructor in a ROEE setting may also uniquely support learning and development for this population as well. A sample of former short-term instructors across the developmental period of emerging adulthood were interviewed to retrospectively explore the meaning that work in a single ROEE program holds in their current lives. Inductive analysis found social practice theory effectively aligned with the meaning former short-term instructors associated with program involvement. These findings suggest that short-term instructor work influenced individuals’ identity development processes in both a social-emotional and pro-environmental manner. Moving past their ROEE experience, former short-term instructors attempted to live out meaningful practices associated with these program-related identities, such as sharing the outdoors with others. Implications for both professional development in a ROEE setting and future research are discussed.

What Happens to a Dream Deferred? Identity Formation and DACA

This article reports on a qualitative research study that explored the lived experience of seven Latinx DACA recipients. Using narrative inquiry, the study tests the Undocumented Adult Identity Development Model (Robles, 2015), a five-stage identity development model of undocumented Latinx youth. The study gives voice to the hopes, dreams, and challenges these young adults face. Findings revealed that participants demonstrated a high degree of resiliency. Ultimately, participants were able to fashion their struggles into a transformative experience that gave them hope and a positive vison for their future. Success in school and in their career was a means of protesting against the limitations placed upon them. Meaning and purpose was achieved through creating community and by taking ownership of their immigration status, through fighting for their rights and for the rights of other immigrants.

Personality development from age 2 to 33: Stability and change in ego resiliency and ego control and associations with adult adaptation.

The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental course and implications of the personality metatraits ego resiliency and ego control across the first 3 decades of life. The sample consisted of 139 participants who were assessed 9 times between ages 2 and 33. Participants completed measures of ego resiliency, ego control, Big Five personality traits, identity development, and positive and negative well-being. The findings indicated strong stability of ego resiliency, in terms of both rank-order and mean-level change. Ego control also demonstrated stability over the full time span, but there was greater change in childhood relative to adolescence and adulthood. Ego resiliency and control were associated with adult well-being, but these associations were generally accounted for by the Big Five traits. Finally, there were small relations between ego resiliency and control in childhood and later adult identity development processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Introduction to Reconstructing Fatherhood

An introduction to three papers that focus on fatherhood. Common to each paper is an understanding that the loss of idealization in adult identity development affords working with an aftermath of melancholy that can alter the role of fatherhood in a pro-social direction. To that end, intersectionality, essentialism, and challenges of being Other are addressed with a focus that is simultaneously clinically and culturally attuned.

Self-narration and agency as interactive achievements: A sociocultural and interactionist analysis of migrant women's stories in a language learning setting

Migration is commonly seen as disrupting individuals’ sense of continuity and agency. In current research on adult identity development, (self-)narratives are regarded as a means of making sense of self. We combined an interactional methodology with a sociocultural and dialogical perspective to examine collective identity processes at work during self-narration by immigrant women in a learning language setting. Data were gathered throughout an intervention designed to encourage participants to put their personal experiences of migration into words. Verbal interactions were analysed to identify 1) narrative discursive units, 2) agentic relationships in and on the narratives, and 3) processes of narrative co-construction. Results showed that self-narratives arose from dynamic interactions in which participants displayed discursive skills in negotiating status and instructions, supported the cognitive and affective work of narrating in a foreign language, and constructed agency that challenged the poor immigrant woman image. We discuss the contributions of our study in terms of methodology and interventions.

Becoming an employed mother: Conceptualising adult identity development through semiotic cultural lens

This paper makes a contribution to theories of adult identity development by considering how transitional experiences that characterise identity development are experienced. To achieve this, the paper draws upon a qualitative study with employed mothers in Australia. The conceptual lens of semiotic cultural psychology used in the paper focuses on the complexity and ambivalence that is characteristic of the transitional experience of becoming an employed mother and reveals how women's multiple possible developmental trajectories – dominant and dormant – emerge from this ambivalence, creating links with the past and keeping the possibility of becoming otherwise available in the future. The paper links sociological and psychological theory and research about employed mothers' experiences by emphasizing the significance of the socio-cultural context in which identity development occurs. It highlights the importance of developing cultural resources that support women as they psychologically and physically navigate their family, work and care responsibilities and related transitions.

Emerging adult identity development, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems during the transition out of college.

Alcohol use generally peaks during the early 20s and declines with age. These declines, referred to as "maturing out," are presumed to result from the acquisition of adult roles (e.g., marriage, employment) incompatible with alcohol use. Recent empirical evidence suggests that variables other than role transitions (e.g., personality) may also be important in understanding this process. Changes in identity that occur during emerging adulthood may also be linked to the process of maturing out of heavy drinking, though no studies have yet addressed this possibility. Utilizing data from a large sample of graduating college students (N = 907) during senior year (Wave 1) and the 2 following years (Waves 2-3), the current study examined relations between aspects of emerging adult identity and drinking outcomes (alcohol use and problems). Using time-varying covariate growth models, results indicated that several facets of emerging adult identity conferred risk for the failure to mature out of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. Experimentation/possibilities emerged as a significant risk factor for both heavy drinking and alcohol problems, but these effects diminished considerably when accounting for personality risk. In contrast, although small in magnitude, effects of self-focus on heavy drinking and negativity/instability on alcohol-related problems were relatively independent of effects of other established predictors. The effect for negativity/instability was evident only at the final wave. The findings have important implications for theories of maturing out and may ultimately inform tailoring or refinement of prevention/intervention approaches for emerging adults. (PsycINFO Database Record

Identity Development in Adulthood: Introduction

ABSTRACTIn line with Erikson’s suggestions, increasing empirical evidence substantiates that considerable identity development takes place over the course of adulthood. What then does identity development during adulthood entail? The key findings of adult identity formation from four culturally different countries, and the challenges of analyzing the complex concept of identity are discussed. Although a wide array of identity measures are available, they have not been sufficiently validated for use with middle-aged or older adults. Additionally, different measures may yield results that are not comparable across studies. More studies are needed on adult identity development in populations representing different ethnicities and living in different cultural environments.

Identity in young adulthood: Links with mental health and risky behavior

The present study was conducted to contribute to our understanding of young adult identity development by deriving latent profiles from intrapersonal and interpersonal indices of identity synthesis and confusion. A sample of 9737 college-attending young adults completed measures of identity, mental health, and health risk behaviors. Four latent profiles emerged: Synthesized (high synthesis, low confusion), Diffused (moderate synthesis, high confusion), Elevated (high synthesis and confusion), and Moderate (moderate synthesis and confusion). The Synthesized profile was associated with the highest well-being and the lowest levels of internalizing, externalizing, and health risks. The Diffused and Elevated profiles were both associated with low well-being and with high internalizing, externalizing, and risky behaviors — with the Elevated profile highest on all of the negative outcomes. The Moderate profile scored intermediately on well-being, internalizing, externalizing, and health risks. These results are discussed in terms of the role of identity within a successful transition to adulthood.

Os Pais e a Transição do Jovem para a Vida Adulta

This article presents the results of a qualitative research aimed to understand, from a Systemic Psychology standpoint, the way parents perceive their children in transition into adulthood. Four couples and three single mothers from Sao Paulo state, and whose children were between 25 and 30 years old, answered semi-structured interviews, with one interview for each represented family. Results indicated that the relativization of marriage, financial independence, and the leaving of parents’ home as normative landmarks for the transition into adulthood favor a new conception of being an adult, which turns out to be considered as the result of a process conducted by the moral value of responsibility and by the maturity of interdependence. On the other hand, ambivalent visions on the adult condition of some children highlight the fact that the development of adult identity implies a transition between distinct phases of the family life cycle, demanding the re-signification of parenting itself.

Reconsidering adulthood: Relative constructions of adult identity during the transition to adulthood

This article explores how peers influence the process of adult identity development during the transition to adulthood. The influence of peers leads to similar individuals adopting differing definitions of adulthood. Utilizing data from interviews with 60 young adults who are all exactly 30 years old, findings indicate that peer groups can partly explain variation in self-perceived definitions of adulthood. Respondents described how peers influence the transition to adulthood in two ways. First, they measure the timing of their transitions relative to their peers. Second, they assess the nature of their transitions relative to what they perceive to be the normative nature of that transition within their peer group. While this process was reported by respondents across gender and education level, the outcomes varied between individuals who are demographically similar. Variation in self-perceived status is due in part to the differences between peer groups, as the reference point for each individual varies from one peer group to another. These findings suggest that norms about adulthood are perceived at the group level, which can explain why differing feelings of adulthood exist among individuals who have completed comparable transitions and share similar status characteristics. As previous research has focused on adulthood norms that exist primarily at the societal level, this study expands on that work by suggesting that salient adulthood norms may be developed and referenced at multiple levels.

Expanding the Self

Research on women’s identity development has indicated that women generally form and view their identities within the context of their relationships and connections to others. Previous research has looked at various aspects of motherhood identity including paradoxical, conflictual, and ambivalent components of motherhood. The current study contributes by exploring 30 university faculty women’s personal experiences of motherhood through a grounded theory framework to determine the contributions of motherhood to adult identity development. Mothering expanded the women’s selves and identities multivariously, by developing new personal qualities, by increasing relational capacity and concern for others, by creating a sense of lasting influence by contributing to younger generations, and by enhancing their engagement with their careers. In this way, motherhood was personally, relationally, generationally, and vocationally expansive. Implications for clinical work and research are included.

An Existential Approach to Adoptive Identity Development in Adulthood

As adoption in our society continues to increase, mental health professionals are faced with working with the coexisting intrapersonal, familial, and social issues. The formation of an adoptive identity is one of the more critical and complicated tasks facing adoptees. Existentialism is a counseling theory that is well suited to address the issues related to adoptive identity formation in adulthood. An overview of the philosophy of existentialism as well as a detailed exploration of how to use the givens of existence along with the authentic relationship is provided as a framework for helping adults explore and develop a healthy self in context.

Identity and Spiritual Development in the Papers of Erik Erikson

This article explores the meaning of spirituality in adult identity development based on the published and unpublished writings of Erik Erikson. Erikson's unpublished Harvard University and related papers are the nucleus of this article, and his 120+ publications buttress that material. I situate Erikson as the trans-Freudian originator of the psychosocial identity construct who imported philosophical thought, poetic and ancient writings, and scripture into his theorizing. Explored is the trajectory that Erikson framed, that of the development of morality → ideology → aesthetics → mature ethics. Erikson framed the best of maturity in the ego identity of what he called the moral-ethical, spiritual human. This human is one with a horizontal, earthly identity and a vertical, transcendent identity.