This investigation pursued the study of the subjective experience of identity that was initiated in 1991 byBlasiandMilton. The conceptual categories thatwere usedto explore differences in the experience of identity correspond tofour identity modes thatpreviously had been derivedfrom a secondary analysis of the Loevinger ego development categories. This study focused on two modes, Identity Observed and Management of Identity, and was guided by two main hypotheses: (a) patterns of subjects' responses should closely correspond to the identity modes; and (b) the main characteristics of these modes, as represented by five self scales as well as the overall response patterns, should differentiate a group of middle adolescents from a group of adults. Data were derived from extensive interviews on themes related to the subjective experience of self and identity with 15 high school seniors and 15 adults, all women. The hypotheses were confirmed.
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