The present exploratory study was undertaken for the purpose of empirically differentiating 'firm "from "developmental "foreclosure subjects in the Marcia ego identity status modeL A total of 131 university students volunteeredfor the first phase of this study in 1990. Each was administered the Marcia Identity Status Interview, foursubscales of the Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence (SJTA), and an Early Memories Interview. Of the participants, 80 were reassessed 2 years later on the same measures. Firm foreclosure subjects (who retained their foreclosure rating over 2 years) had higher nurturance seeking scores than did developmental foreclosure, moratorium, and achieved individuals at the outset of the study. Firm foreclosure participants also had more frequent early memory themes of seeking security at the outset of the study than did developmentalforeclosure, moratorium, or achieved subjects. The ability to differentiate firm from developmental foreclosure late adolescents holds important implications for theory construction andfuture research.
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