Identity status among young adults James Marcia Identity status among young adults By Laura Binagia and John-Anthony Harwerth

Marcia’s Background Canadian developmental psychologist Professor emeritus of psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia Earned his Ph.D. at Ohio State University His article, Development and Validation of ego- identity status, expanded on Erikson’s Theory of Development Began research in 1964 studying college males Developed the four statuses of identity

Foundation: Erik Erikson Epigenetic principle Crisis at each stage Stage 5: Identity

“Identity” for Marcia “Identity formation involves a synthesis of childhood skills, beliefs, and identifications into a more or less coherent, unique whole that provides the young adult with both a sense of continuity with the past and a direction for the future.”

Statuses of Identity Development Commitment No Commitment Achievement Moratorium Foreclosure Diffusion Exploration No Exploration

Diffusion There is no commitment or exploration in this stage Diffused people experience no central sense of self They do not plan for the future; are aimlessly cruisin’ They have not gone through a general struggle that would cause reevaluation in their life They live in the moment and do not plan for the future

Foreclosure There is a high level of commitment but no exploration in this stage They have not yet experienced an identity crisis and fail to question the influences in their lives They blindly accept what they are told and do not explore outside the role given to them On the surface level, they may embody the characteristics of an identity achieved person

Moratorium There is a high level of exploration but no commitment in this stage This stage is a prerequisite for becoming identity achieved; its an active state of crisis In a search for answers, this stage calls for new experiences and exploring new roles They are always questioning their experiences They begin to commit but are still developing

Achievement In this stage, there has been a lot of exploration which led to commitment to a certain ideology These people are confident and independent They have experienced crisis but have resolved their issues They have a strong sense of ego-identity and can excel in unfamiliar situations

Nature and Nurture, man I’m on my own line Nature Nurture

Framing the Research Question Is there social pressure to be in a committed or uncommitted identity status? Is this pressure different for males vs females? Do women and men value identity achievement to the same degree (at the potential cost of other values, such as intimacy with others)?

Our Research Questions What is the relationship between “committed” identity-statuses (foreclosure, achievement) and popularity/sense of belonging? Does the relationship between identity-status and popularity/sense of belonging differ according to gender? What is the relationship between popularity and sense of belonging?

Hypotheses There will be a difference in popularity and sense of belonging between those in “committed” identity statuses and those uncommitted statuses. The relationship between identity-status and popularity/sense of belonging will differ according to gender. There will be differences in scores of popularity and sense of belonging.

Our Study Self-report questionnaires, 6-point Likert-scales Variables: Identity status Gender Religious/political affiliation Year in school Popularity Sense of belonging

Survey Questions Diffusion: I haven’t really considered politics. They just don’t excite me much. When it comes to religion I just haven’t found any that I’m really into myself. I don’t give religion much thought and it doesn’t bother me one way or the other. I haven’t chosen the occupation I really want to get into, but I’m working toward becoming a _____ until something better comes along. I really never was involved in politics enough to have to make a firm stand one way or the other. I’m sure it will be pretty easy for me to change my occupational goals when something better comes along.

Survey Questions Foreclosure: I might have thought about a lot of different things but there has never really been a decision since my parents said what they wanted. My parents had it decided a long time ago what I should go into and I’m following their plans. I guess I’m pretty much like my folks when it comes to politics. I follow what they do in terms of voting and such. My folks have always had their own political and moral beliefs about issues like abortion and mercy killing and I’ve always gone along accepting what they have. I attend the same church as my family has always attended. I’ve never really questioned why. I’ve never really questioned my religion. If it’s right for my parents it must be right for me.

Survey Questions Moratorium: There are so many different political parties and ideals. I can’t decide which to follow until I figure it all out. I’m not so sure what religion means to me. I’d like to make up my mind but I’m not done looking yet. Religion is confusing to me right now. I keep changing my views on what is right and wrong to me. I’m not sure about my political beliefs, but I’m trying to figure out what I can truly believe in. I just can’t decide how capable I am as a person and what jobs I’ll be right for. I just can’t decide what to do for an occupation. There are so many possibilities.

Survey Questions Achievement: A person’s faith is unique to each individual. I’ve considered and reconsidered it myself and know what I can believe. It took me a long time to decide but now I know for sure what direction to move in for a career. I’ve thought my political beliefs through and realize I may or may not agree with many of my parent’s beliefs. It took me awhile to figure it out, but now I really know what I want for a career. I’ve gone through a period of serious questioning about faith and can now say I understand what I believe in as an individual. Politics are something that I can never be too sure about because things change so fast. But I do think it’s important to know what I believe in.

Survey Questions Popularity: I found it easy to make friends at my university. I did not make many friends my freshman year. I am well-known around campus. I get the feeling people at my university want to be my friend. I rarely get invited to hang out with people (parties, events, etc.).

Survey Questions Sense of Belonging: I feel like I “fit in” at my school. My friends and I are on the outskirts of my university’s social scene. I often feel lonely at school.

Participants Convenience sampling: Mostly freshmen Majority female Fr. Thomas’ afternoon Under the Bible class Mostly freshmen 71% 19 year olds, 23% 18 year olds Majority female 65% female, 35% men Mostly Catholic 88% Catholic, 12% Protestant

Results Hypothesis 1: There will be a difference in popularity and sense of belonging between those in “committed” identity statuses and those uncommitted statuses. couldn’t answer, only 1 participant was committed no major differences found in popularity/sense of belonging between the statuses Diffusion Avg Popularity 71.5 Median = 71.5 Avg Belonging 58.3 Median = 72 Moratorium Avg Popularity 76.8 median= 78.5 Avg Belonging 70.5 Median = 75

Results

Results Hypothesis 2: The relationship between identity-status and popularity/sense of belonging will differ according to gender. For moratorium and diffusion, females on average felt more popular and a greater sense of belonging than males Females in Moratorium had slightly higher popularity/sense of belonging scores than those in Diffusion, but did not test for statistical significance Males had comparable scores in Moratorium and Diffusion. Moratorium Diffusion Avg Popularity = 81 Avg Belonging = 81 Avg Popularity = 75 Avg Belonging = 72 Avg Popularity = 67 Avg Belonging = 46 Avg Popularity = 68 Avg Belonging = 45

Results Hypothesis 3: There will be differences in scores of popularity and sense of belonging. All but 3 participants scored higher in popularity than sense of belonging. Average difference between popularity and sense of belonging was much higher in males than in females. Average difference for males: 21 Average difference for females: 2

Conclusions Vast majority of our sample was in an “uncommitted” status, with a higher percentage of Moratorium than Diffusion Students did not seem to differ in popularity and sense of belonging based on identity status, but there was a marked difference in popularity and sense of belonging between genders (females scoring higher). Students generally reported feeling more popular than feeling a sense of belonging, but this difference was much greater for males. Implications: At least judging from our sample, the social pressures of UD do not seem to favor commitment over non-commitment or pressure women differently than men.

Limitations More women than men Questionable construct validity of self-made questionnaire No statistical analysis Domains (religion, politics, etc.) were calculated as an average instead of separately. This is an area for further research, as such a distinction could have affected the results.

References Adams, G. R., Shea, J. A. & Fitch, S. A. (1979). Toward the development of an objective assessment of ego identity status. Journal of Adolescence, 8, 223-237. Erikson, E. H. (1968). The life cycle: Epigenesis of identity. In Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Marcia, J. E. (1993). Ego identity: A handbook for psychosocial research. New York: Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Schiedel, D. G., & Marcia, J. E. (1985). Ego identity, intimacy, sex role orientation, and gender. Developmental Psychology, 21(1), 149-160. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.21.1.149 Skoe, E. E. (1995). Sex role orientation and its relationship to the development of identity and moral thought. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 36(3), 235-245. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.1995.tb00983.x