title: Examining the light and dark sides of emerging adults' identity: a study of identity status differences in positive and negative psychosocial functioning.
abstract: Identity is a critical developmental task during the transition to adulthood in Western societies. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate an empirically based, cluster-analytic identity status model, to examine whether all four of Marcia's identity statuses (diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and achievement) would emerge empirically, and to identify different patterns of identity formation among American college-attending emerging adults. An ethnically diverse sample of 9,034 emerging-adult students (73% female; mean age 19.73 years) from 30 U.S. universities completed measures of identity exploration (ruminative, in breadth, and in depth) and commitment (commitment making and identification with commitment), identity synthesis and confusion, positive and negative psychosocial functioning, and health-compromising behaviors. The identity status cluster solution that emerged provided an adequate fit to the data and included all four of Marcia's original identity statuses, along with Carefree Diffusion and Undifferentiated statuses. Results provided evidence for concurrent validity, construct validity, and practical applicability of these statuses. Implications for identity research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA. SSchwartz@med.miami.edu
authors.forename: Seth J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Beyers
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Luyckx
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Soenens
authors.forename: Byron L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Zamboanga
authors.forename: Larry F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Forthun
authors.forename: Sam A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.forename: Alexander T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Vazsonyi
authors.forename: Lindsay S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Ham
authors.forename: Su Yeong
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Susan Krauss
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Whitbourne
authors.forename: Alan S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Waterman
mesh_terms: D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D005260:Female; D006803:Human Development; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D012933:Social Identification; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult / Q000523:psychology*