Measurement of Identity from Adolescence to Adulthood: Cultural,Community,Religious,and Family Factors

Abstract

Rather than defining identity in terms of individuality, we defined it in terms of relationships with others. People know who they are on the basis of their relationships with others in their culture, community, religion, and family. We developed a measure of identity with four subscales and gave it to six adolescent groups in Experiment 1. We revised it and gave it to another six groups, five adolescent and one adult, in Experiment 2. We further revised it and gave it to three groups, two adolescent and one adult, in Experiment 3. Identity scores increased with age and four factors emerged: family, religion, community, and culture. Identity can be defined and reliably measured in terms of relationships.

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