Interpersonal Identity Research Articles

Assessment of Identity and Quality of Life in Diabetic and Renal Transplant Adolescents in Comparison to Healthy Adolescents

Identity development represents a central task of adolescence. Identity achievement is characterized by a coherent sense of who one is following a period of exploration and can help navigate the challenges of adulthood. This study examined identity within a quality of life (QOL) context in 85 adolescents with a renal transplant or with Type 1 diabetes in comparison to 90 healthy controls. Results revealed significant differences in ideological identity, with patients showing higher levels of diffusion and controls showing higher levels of foreclosure. No differences with respect to interpersonal identity, QOL, perceived control over the QOL domains, and perceived opportunities for growth and development were found. Future research should assess identity and QOL over a longer period of time to determine whether differences between chronically ill and healthy young adults can be detected.

Swedish 18-year-olds' identity formation: Associations with feelings about appearance and internalization of body ideals

The aim of this study with Swedish 18-year-olds (N = 714, 55.2% women) was to investigate identity formation in relation to body-esteem and body ideal internalization. These are all important aspects of adolescents' development, but little is known about how they are related. This study indicates that late adolescents' identity formation, body-esteem, and body ideal internalizations are related. Women's interpersonal identity commitments and explorations were related to more positive thoughts about how others evaluate their appearance. Their interpersonal identity explorations were also related to more internalization of societal body ideals. For men, stronger interpersonal identity commitments were related to more positive own evaluations about their appearance. The results also showed that compared to men, women explored identity issues more, had poorer body-esteem, and had internalized body ideals more.

Personality Traits, Interpersonal Identity, and Relationship Stability: Longitudinal Linkages in Late Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Adolescence and young adulthood are characterized by important changes in personality, changes toward a more stable identity, and the establishment of intimate relationships. We examined the role of personality traits in establishing intimate relationships, the interplay between personality traits and interpersonal identity processes during these relationships, and the role of interpersonal identity processes and personality traits in the dissolution thereof. For this purpose, we used longitudinal data on 424 female college students (mean age at T1 = 18.6 years; Sample 1) and 390 late adolescents drawn from a community sample (56.7% female; mean age at T1 = 19.7 years; Sample 2). Especially highly extraverted individuals were likely to become involved in a relationship. Neuroticism was associated negatively, and Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were associated positively with a stronger sense of interpersonal identity within intimate relationships. Finally, the importance of interpersonal identity processes was underscored by the fact that these processes, and not so much personality traits, predicted relational breakups. Overall, the present study provides important insights into the role of personality and identity in the initiation, maintenance, and dissolution of intimate relationships in late adolescence and young adulthood.

Identity Search: Interpersonal Relationships and Relational Identities of Always-Single Japanese Women over Time

In recent years, an increasing number of Japanese women have remained single. This study investigated their relational identities using the communication theory of identity. The study examined follow-up interviews with 20 always-single women originally interviewed in Japan 4 years earlier. Analyses identified subthemes: a shift in family dynamics, position in the ie (family), and committed yet uncommitted relationships. These subthemes underlined an overarching theme of acceptance of various relationships and lifestyles. In turn, we argue that self-acceptance of this unconventional identity and the resulting identity gaps are associated with positive outcomes managing the dialectic challenges of this identity.

Personal and interpersonal value system, self-perception and identity of Spanish nurses: a cross-sectional study

The aim of this research is to identify the predominant values system among a sample of Spanish nurses, to identify how values are tied to professional nursing identity and determine differences in values and identity between socio-demographic variables as a gender, citizenship and/or nursing service. Cross-sectional study was performed with a randomised sample of 337 staff nurses who had worked for a minimum of one year in adult or paediatric services in the public or private health care system in the Northern State in Spain. Gordon’s Personality Inventory was administered to measure the personal, interpersonal and self image of sample. The study found differences in personal and interpersonal values across generational cohorts, gender and ethnic group. Evidence of feminisation of values among male nurses was also found – in terms of age and professionally, they may take fewer risks and show a tendency toward congruence with the predominant organisational culture.

Interpersonal identity formation in conversations with close friends about dating relationships

The present study explores how close same-sex friendship groups participate in the co-construction of identities in the interpersonal domain during young adulthood. Participants included 24 same-sex college student friendship triads (12 male and 12 female; 72 total participants) who took part in semi-structured group interviews that elicited stories about conversations with their friends about dating relationship problems. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed five common responses to dating problems evidencing identity work in the context of friends’ conversations. These responses included relating the issue to one’s own experiences, providing validation and encouragement, joking about the problem, offering advice, and providing concrete instrumental support. Results are interpreted with regard to gender differences and similarities as well as the social context of college and developmental context of emerging adulthood. The findings identify ways in which young adults are actively co-constructing and re-evaluating their interpersonal identities within conversations with close same-sex friends.

Interpersonal Identity Achievement Accounts for the Link Between Action Control and Self-Informed Realization of the Implicit Affiliation-Intimacy Motive

This study examines the relationship between a specific form of self-regulation (i.e., action control) and the dispositional mode of realization of the implicit affiliation-intimacy motive. This mode can either be self-informed or driven by external incentives. It was hypothesized that interpersonal identity achievement mediates the relationship between action control and the self-informed mode of motive realization of the implicit need for affiliation-intimacy. The Operant Multimotive Test, a short version of the Action Control Scale, and the Interpersonal Identity Achievement scale of the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status were administered to 207 university students. A mediation analysis confirmed the hypothesis.

The Relationship Between Hyperfemininity and Achievement of Ego Identity Among College Women

In this study, the relationships between the variables of hyperfemininity and ideological and interpersonal identity status among college women were investigated. A 3 × 3 factorial ANOVA was conducted with Hyperfemininity (low, medium, and high) and Year in School (1 year, 2 years, and 3 or more years). Significant main effects were found for Hyperfemininity and for Year in School, but none of the interaction effects were significant.

Interpersonal Identity Development in Different Groups of Siblings

With the help of German versions of the modified Utrecht-Groningen Identity Development Scales, we assessed interpersonal identity development of five different groups of siblings. Monozygotic, dizygotic same-sexed, and opposite-sexed twins, as well as same-sexed and opposite-sexed siblings (N = 214; average age 11.2, SD = 1.4) were interviewed three times (time interval: 1 year) in their home environments to examine commitment and exploration in the life domains siblings, best friends, and romantic relationships at each visit, as well as changes over time. Hierarchical analyses showed that, in general, the type of sibling dyad was not related to interpersonal identity development. Only monozygotic twins – being of the same genotype, same sex, and same age – derive more self-esteem from their sibling relationships. In general, a decrease in commitment toward the sibling and an increase of exploration in the life domains best friends and romantic relationships could be observed in all adolescents.

Brief report: Engagement in sport and identity status

Drawing on identity development theory, the connection between engagement in sport and identity status was examined. First-year undergraduates ( n = 116 sport-involved youth; 67% women; mean age = 18.58 yrs) completed measures of interpersonal and ideological identity status (achievement, moratorium, diffusion, foreclosure), along with behavioral (breadth, intensity) and psychological (e.g., enjoyment, competence) indicators of sport engagement. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the relation between latent sport engagement and identity status in interpersonal and ideological domains. As hypothesized, latent sport engagement predicted greater interpersonal (but not ideological) identity achievement. Consistent with identity development theory, an additional specific relation was observed between lower breadth of sport involvement and higher interpersonal identity achievement. Results demonstrate the value of examining behavioral and psychological indicators of sport engagement jointly, and support a growing body of research linking sport and positive youth development.

ADULT LITERACY: POTENTIAL STAGE FOR HEALTH PROMOTION


 Objective: to be able to understand the meaning of learning to read and write in everyday life situations for adults who live in slums of Medellín and the Aburrá valley in Antioquia, Colombia which take part on literacy processes focusing on pedagogy of the text. 
 Methodology: qualitative investigation with a perspective of focused etnography, developed between July 2006 and July 2008, by means of group and individual interviews as well as observations of educational sessions and family environments. Thirty two adults participated, the majority of them mature and medium aged women. The analysis is based on the results of the program Atlas.ti. 
 Results: while carrying out this educational experience the participants experience tensions derived from their inability to read and to have taken the decition to study at an advanced age. The meaning of the signature appeared as a symbolic element of identity, allowing the participation on spaces and public events. The strengthening of orality through reading and writing broadened the posibilities of social interaction. 
 Conclusions: the intra and interpersonal identities are moved and transformed during the educational process. Those people until then blocked by the predominance of the written culture started a process of self recognition, changes on family relationships and a decrease on the feeling of uncertainty. Although this new knowledge begin to be embodied in their family and social life, they do not necessarily secure an improvement on life conditions. However a greater control and projection of the individual life plan is envisaged as recognized aspiration on the objectives of health promotion.

Profiles of Identity Exploration and Commitment Across Domains

We examined the relationships between family structure, gender and age and profiles of identity exploration and commitment in the ideological (occupation, values, politics, religion, gender roles) and interpersonal identity (dating, friendships, and family) domains among 388 young adults. The general profile revealed low exploration in both domains, with ideological exploration being the lower, compared to high and comparable levels of commitment in the two domains. Older participants explored more than younger ones, and females gave more attention to the interpersonal domain than did males. Participants from original families explored more in the interpersonal domain than in the ideological domain, but their commitment was the same for the two domains. Participants from non-original families explored in equal amounts in the two domains, but were more committed in the interpersonal domain compared to participants from original families. Participants from non-original families explored more in the ideological domain than did participants from original families. Our findings indicate that individuals from non-original families exhibit positive outcomes and strengths that are often overlooked in the literature.

Development of Life Skills and Involvement in the Girls on Track Program

There has been a growing trend in examining how life skills can be developed through sport programs (Danish, 2002). Four components of life skills central to the current study were interpersonal communication, problem solving, health maintenance, and identity development (Darden & Gazda, 1996). The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of participation in Girls on Track (GOT), a sport-based life-skills program, to the effects of participation in soccer programs and the Girl Scouts. The GOT program is a running program intended to teach girls physical, personal, and social skills. Nineteen girls from the three programs were interviewed individually. Results revealed that all four components of life skills emerged from the interviews with GOT participants. In comparison, only three components emerged for the other two programs. These data suggest that the GOT program may be more successful in delivering life skills compared to the soccer and Girl Scouts programs.

Rites of passage and healing efficacy: an ethnographic study of an intimate partner violence intervention

Concepts of health or healing remain conspicuously absent in intimate partner violence intervention literature and practice within the USA. Instead, interventions generally end with ‘equilibrium’ or ‘maintenance’ in which women are no longer in crisis and are no longer in a violent relationship. But this ignores an important and necessary trajectory for intervention – healing. Following the logic of Van Gennep (1960) and Turner (1969), I suggest that most interventions leave women in a state of liminality, struggling to develop an alternative social and interpersonal identity to that of ‘victim of abuse’, or a ‘survivor of violence’. This paper examines final stage healing as a rite of passage effected in an experimental women-centred intervention.

Threat and guilt aspects of internalized antilesbian and gay prejudice: An application of personal construct theory.

Building on G. A. Kelly’s (1991a, 1991b) personal construct theory, this study introduced concepts of threat and guilt as different manifestations of internalized antilesbian and gay prejudice. Results with 102 lesbian and gay participants indicated that internalized threat and guilt each accounted for unique variance in global internalized antilesbian and gay prejudice. Also, as expected, internalized threat was associated uniquely with lower preference for lesbian or gay sexual orientation, whereas internalized guilt was associated uniquely with lesbian and gay identity denigration. Finally, threat partially mediated the relations of internalized antilesbian and gay prejudice with intrapersonal identity stresses (i.e., identity confusion, difficulty of identity formation process), whereas guilt partially mediated the relations of internalized antilesbian and gay prejudice with interpersonal identity stresses (i.e., maintaining privacy, discomfort with disclosure).

Borderline Personality Disorder Across the Life Span

SUMMARY Borderline personality disorder is characterized by affective dysregulation, intense, unstable interpersonal relationships, impulsivity and unstable identity. It overlaps considerably with both PTSD and bipolar spectrum disorders. Research on true late-life BPD is limited, but suggests that some of the core features of BPD including interpersonal difficulties, unstable affect and anger remain relatively unchanged, while impulsivity and identity disturbance decline or change their mode of expression in late life. Diagnosis of BPD in late life requires flexible application of the standard diagnostic criteria as well as a thorough longitudinal history. The etiology of BPD is best explained as a combination of genetic, neurobiological vulnerability combined with childhood trauma, abuse or neglect that leads to dysregulated emotions, distorted cognitions, social skills deficits, and few adaptive coping strategies. Treatment options include pharmacotherapy (especially mood stabilizers, SSRIs and atypical antipsychotics) and psychotherapeutic interventions that focus on distress tolerance, affective regulation, changing distorted beliefs, and introducing new social and relationship problem-solving skills (especially Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Schema Focused Cognitive Therapy). In late-life care environments, such as nursing homes and other residential facilities, staff need to be empowered to set appropriate limits on problematic behavior while maintaining empathy and validating the painful affect patients often experience.

Relations among Parental Divorce, Identity Status, and Coping Strategies of College Age Women

Relations among parental divorce, identity status, and coping strategies were examined in a sample of emerging adult women. Two hundred forty college age women between the ages of 18 and 23 were asked to report whether they had experienced parental divorce and were administered the Coping Strategies Inventory and the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status-II. Correlational analyses indicated that identity diffusion in the interpersonal domain was associated with emotion focused coping strategies, whereas identity achievement in both sets of domains was associated with greater use of problem focused coping strategies. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that, for both the ideological and interpersonal identity domains, divorce was positively related to emotion focused coping and negatively related to both diffusion and foreclosure. Tests of mediation did not produce any significant mediating pathways for either domain. These findings are discussed in relation to current research and practice implications for intervening with emerging adults.

Interpersonal Identity and Social Capital: The Importance of Commitment for Low Income, Rural, African American Adolescents

Social capital may be particularly important for the well-being and future opportunities of African American adolescents living in low income families. In this study, linkages between interpersonal identity formation and adolescents’ perceptions of social capital quality were examined in a cross-sectional study of 374 low income, rural, African American adolescents (161 males, 213 females), ranging in age from 12 to 19. It was argued that adolescents who have stronger commitments to their interpersonal identities will report better social capital quality. Analysis of variance results indicated that adolescents classified as foreclosed (high commitment/low exploration) in identity status never differed in their perceptions of social capital quality from those classified as achieved (high commitment/high exploration) in identity status. Furthermore, results of structural equation modeling indicated that identity commitment mattered most for explaining variability in social capital quality. Implications for African American adolescent identity formation and future research directions are discussed.

Motive Congruence and Interpersonal Identity Status

This article examines the relationship between interpersonal ego identity formation and congruence of self-attributed and implicit affiliation motives. A TAT-type picture-story test, the Personality Research Form, and the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status were administered to 177 participants to assess data on affiliation motivation and interpersonal identity formation. According to a scoring system developed by Winter, the picture stories were coded for need for Affiliation. Analyses revealed that motive congruence is significantly associated with participants' level of identity achievement and identity foreclosure in the interpersonal domain. Such a relationship could not be identified for identity diffusion and moratorium.

Proliferating Theories: Self and Identity in Post-Eriksonian Context: A Rejoinder to Berzonsky, Kroger, Levine, Phinney, Schachter, and Weigert and Gecas

Focuses on the documentary issues significantly considered to the current study of teenagers and their identities. Interpersonal identity formation during early adolescence; Criticisms on feminist perspectives in its relevance for contemporary identity development research; Examination of the ego identity status paradigm.