Research Centre Adolescent Development, Utrecht University.
Department of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Utrecht University.
Dev Psychol. 2017 Nov;53(11):2103-2112. doi: 10.1037/dev0000374.
A central assumption of identity theory is that adolescents reconsider current identity commitments and explore identity alternatives before they make new commitments in various identity domains (Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1966). Yet, little empirical evidence is available on how commitment and exploration dynamics of identity formation affect each other across adolescence at the within-person level. Therefore, the current study (N = 494, Mage Time 1 = 13.3 years) examined reciprocal within-person longitudinal linkages between adolescents' identity exploration and identity commitment making in the interpersonal and educational identity domains. For this purpose, we constructed a multilevel type cross-lagged panel model from early to late adolescence (i.e., across 5 successive years). Results supported Erikson's (1968) hypothesis that adolescents reconsider current identity commitments and explore alternatives before they make strong commitments within the interpersonal identity domain across early to late adolescence. Within the educational identity domain, increasing identity commitment level and commitment fluctuations predicted less identity reconsideration over time. Our findings support identity theory, but indicate that the processes of identity formation might differ depending on the identity domain. (PsycINFO Database Record
认同理论的一个核心假设是，青少年在各个认同领域做出新的承诺之前，会重新考虑当前的认同承诺，并探索认同的其他可能性（Erikson，1968；Marcia，1966）。然而，在个体层面上，关于认同形成的承诺和探索动态如何相互影响的实证证据很少。因此，本研究（N=494，Mage Time 1=13.3 岁）考察了青少年在人际和教育认同领域的认同探索和认同承诺之间的相互内在纵向联系。为此，我们从青少年早期到晚期（即跨越 5 年连续时间）构建了一个多层次的交叉滞后面板模型。研究结果支持了埃里克森（1968）的假设，即在青少年早期到晚期，他们会重新考虑当前的人际认同承诺，并探索其他可能性，然后再做出强烈的承诺。在教育认同领域，随着身份承诺水平和承诺波动的增加，随着时间的推移，身份再思考的次数会减少。我们的发现支持了认同理论，但表明认同形成的过程可能因认同领域而异。
