Predicting Identity Consolidation From Self-Construction, Eudaimonistic Self-Discovery, and Agentic Personality

• NCJ Number: 216240
• Journal: Journal of Adolescence Volume: 29 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2006 Pages: 777-793
• Author(s): Seth J. Schwartz
• Date Published: October 2006
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study sought to determine the extent to which three alternative perspectives on identity development (self-construction, eudaimonistic self-discovery, and agentic personality) related to various indices of identity consolidation drawn from Erikson’s work on identity status and identity capital.

Abstract

Self-construction, eudaimonistic self-discovery, and agentic personality each showed differential patterns of relationships to measures of identity consolidation. This suggests that all three strategies can be used to develop a sense of identity. These findings are largely consistent with prior identity research despite differences in the ethnic makeup of the sample. The contemporary study of identity traces its roots to the pioneering work of Erikson (1950), who hypothesized self-definition as the foundational challenge of adolescence and the transition to adulthood. Erikson’s work stated a healthy sense of identity affords the person a clear set of goals and a consistent set of guidelines for negotiating life choices. However, it is stressed that developing an understanding of how identity forms and operates is a necessary prerequisite to understanding the process of identity consolidation and to designing intervention programs to guide young people in the consolidation of identity. What is needed is a richer understanding of the elements that come together to form a sense of identity, the interrelationships among those elements, and the relationships of these elements to indices of identity consolidation. This study was designed as a first step toward this effort. This study sought to identify the convergence between various indices of identity consolidation, operationalized as a multi-dimensional phenomenon, and processes drawn from various alternative perspectives introduced recently: self construction, eudaimonistic self-discovery, and agentic personality. The study consisted of 183 participants who completed measures drawn from Eriksonian, identity status, self-construction, eudaimonistic self-discovery, and identity capital perspectives. Table, references