A cohort-sequential study was used to assess family and university environments on identity formation and ego strength. A sample of 294 university students entering school in 1994 and 1995 was assessed in the first and second years. Mailed surveys were completed to assess expressiveness and cohesion in the family, intellectual and supportive activity in academic departments, frequency of critical and analytic teaching in courses, and measures of avoidance decision making, dialectic thinking, identity diffusion and identity achievement, and the ego strength of fidelity. Few developmental changes in any of the variables were observed across the 2 years. However, intellectual and supportive academic departments and democratic family life predicted ego strength. Likewise, the effect of intellectual and supportive academic departments on psychosocial functioning was mediated by information management strategies and the use of dialect thought. The evidence suggests that future research should include both direct effects through perceived environments and indirect effects of the environment through mediating social cognitions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adams, G.R.(with collaboration from J.Ethier).(1999).The objective measure of ego identity status: A manual on theory and test construction.Unpublished manuscript, University of Guelph.
2.
Adams, G.R.
, Abraham, K.G., & Markstrom, C.A. (1987).The relations among identity development, self-consciousness, and self-focusing during middle and late adolescence.Developmental Psychology, 23,292-297.
3.
Adams, G.R.
, Bennion, L., & Huh, K. (1989).Objective measure of ego identity status: A reference manual.Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario [out of print].
4.
Adams, G.R.
, & Fitch, S.A. (1982).Ego stage and identity status development: a cross-sequential analysis.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43,574-583.
5.
Adams, G.R.
, & Fitch, S.A. (1983).Psychological environments at university departments: Effects on college students’identity status and ego stage development.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44,1266-1275.
6.
Adams, G.R.
, Gullotta, T.P., & Montemayor, R. (1992).Adolescent identity formation.Advances in Adolescent Development (Vol.4).Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
7.
Adams, G.R.
, & Jones, R.M. (1983).Female adolescents’identity development: Age comparisons and childrearing perceptions.Developmental Psychology, 19,249-256.
8.
Adams, G.R.
, & Marshall, S.K. (1996).A developmental social psychology of identity: Understanding the person-in-context.Journal of Adolescence, 19,1-14.
9.
Adams, G.R.
, Ryan, J.H., Hoffman, J., Dobson, W.R., & Nielsen, E.C. (1984).Ego identity status, conformity behavior, and personality in adolescence.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47,1091-1104.
10.
Adams, G.R.
, Ryan, B.A., Keating, L.J., Marshall, S., & Ketsetzis, M. (1996).Family, academic, peer and individual influences on the formation of intimacy during the first year of university.In B.Galaway & J.Hudson (Eds.), Youth in transition: Perspectives on research and policy (pp.262-268).Toronto, Canada: Thompson Educational.
11.
Adams, G.R.
, Shea, J.A., & Fitch, S.A. (1979).Toward the development of an objective assessment of ego-identity status.Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2,223-237.
12.
Archer, S.L.
(Ed.).(1994).Interventions for adolescent identity development.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
13.
Astin, A.W.
(1968).The college environment.Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
14.
Baumeister, R.F.
(1986).Identity: Cultural change and the struggle for self.New York: Oxford University Press.
15.
Berzonsky, M.D.
(1988).Self-theorists, identity status, and social cognition.In D.K.Lapsley & F.C.Power (Ed.), Self, ego, and identity: Integrative approaches (pp.242-263).New York: Springer-Verlag.
16.
Berzonsky, M.D.
(1989).Identity style: Conceptualization and measurement.Journal of Adolescent Research, 4,267-281.
17.
Berzonsky, M.D.
(1992).A process perspective on identity and stress management.In G.R.Adams, T.P.Gullotta, & R.Montemayor (Eds.), Adolescent identity formation. Advances in Adolescent Development, (Vol.4, pp.193-215).Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
18.
Booth, A.
, & Dunn, J.F. (Eds.).(1996).Family-school links: How do they affect educational outcomes?Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
19.
Bosma, H.A.
, Graafsma, T.L., Grotevant, H.D., & de Levita, D.J. (1994).Identity and development: An interdisciplinary approach.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
20.
Dyk, P.A.
(1990, April).The impact of family relations on adolescent identity development.Paper presented at the biennial meetings of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Atlanta, GA.
21.
Eccles, J.
, & Midgley, C. (1990).Changes in academic motivation and self-perception during early adolescence.In R.Montemayor, G.R.Adams, & T.P.Gullotta (Eds.), From childhood to adolescence: A transitional period? Advances in Adolescent Development (Vol.2, pp.134-155).Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
22.
Enright, R.D.
, Ganiere, D.M., Buss, R.R., Lapsley, D.K., & Olson, L.M. (1983).Promoting identity development in adolescents.Journal of Early Adolescence, 3,247-255.
23.
Enright, R.D.
, Olson, L.M., Ganiere, D., Lapsley, D.K., & Buss, R.R. (1984).A clinical model for enhancing adolescent ego identity.Journal of Adolescence, 7,119-130.
24.
Erikson, E.H.
(Ed.).(1965).The challenge of youth.New York: Anchor Books.
25.
Erikson, E.H.
(1968).Identity: Youth and crisis.New York: Norton.
26.
Feldman, K.
, & Newcomb, T. (1969).The impact of college on students: Findings and recommendations for the future.San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
27.
Fitch, S.A.
, & Adams, G.R. (1983).Ego identity and intimacy status: Replication and extension.Developmental Psychology, 19,839-845.
28.
Galaway, B.
, & Huston, J. (Eds.).(1996).Youth in transition: Perspectives on research and policy.Toronto, Canada: Thompson Educational.
29.
Grotevant, H.D.
, & Cooper, C.R. (Eds.).(1983).Adolescent development in the family. New directions for child development (Vol.22). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
30.
Heider, F.
(1958).The psychology of interpersonal relations.New York: John Wiley.
31.
Insel, P.M.
, & Moos, R.H. (1974).Psychological environments: Expanding the scope of human ecology.American Psychologist, 29,179-188.
32.
Josselson, R.
(1987).Identity diffusion: A long-term follow-up.In S.C.Feinstein (Ed.), Adolescent psychiatry: Developmental and clinical studies (Vol.14).Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
33.
Keating, D.P.
, & Sasse, D.K. (1996).Cognitive socialization in adolescence: Critical period for a critical habit of mind.In G.R.Adams, R.Montemayor, & T.P.Gullotta (Eds.), Psychosocial development during adolescence: Progress in developmental contextualism. Advances in Adolescent Development (Vol.8, pp.232-258).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
34.
Kelly, G.A.
(1955).The psychology of personal constructs.New York: Norton.
35.
Kroger, J.
(1989).Identity in adolescence: The balance between self and other.London: Routledge.
Markstrom-Adams, C.
, Ascione, F., Braegger, D., & Adams, G.R. (1993).Promotion of egoidentity development: Can short-term intervention facilitate growth?Journal of Adolescence, 16, 217-224.
38.
Markstrom-Adams, C.
, Sabino, V., Turner, B., & Berman, R. (1997).The psychosocial inventory of ego strengths: Development and assessment of a new Eriksonian measure.Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26,705-722.
39.
Meeus, W.
(1996).Studies on identity development in adolescence: an overview of research and some new data.Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 25,569-598.
40.
Midgett, C.L.(1997).Late adolescent identity formation and psychosocial strength.Unpublished masters thesis, University of Guelph.
41.
Mitchell, J.J.
(1986).The nature of adolescence.Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Detselig Enterprises.
42.
Moos, R.H.
(1973).Conceptualization of human environments.American Psychologist, 28,652-665.
Ryan, B.A.
, & Adams, G.R. (1995).The family-school relationship model.In B.A.Ryan, G.R.Adams, T.P.Gullotta, R.P.Weissberg, & R.L.Hampton (Eds.), The family-school connection: Theory, research, and practice. Issues in Children’s and Families’Lives (Vol.2, pp.3-28).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
48.
Ryan, B.A.
, & Adams, G.R. (1999).How do families affect children’s success in school?Education Quarterly Review, 6, 30-43.
49.
Sanford, N.
(Ed.).(1962).The American college.New York: John Wiley.
50.
Schank, R.C.
, & Abelson, R.P. (1977).Scripts, plans, goals, and understanding: An inquiry into human knowledge structures.Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
51.
Selles, T.(1993).Late adolescent identity development and risk for suicide.Unpublished master thesis, University of Guelph.
52.
Silbereisen, R.K.
, & Todt, E. (Eds.).(1994).Adolescence in context: The interplay of family, school, peers, and work on adjustment.New York: Springer-Verlag.
53.
van Hoof, A.(1997).Identity formation in adolescence: Structural integration and guiding influences.Unpublished manuscript, Utrecht University.
54.
Weidman, J.
(1989).Undergraduate socialization: A conceptual approach.In J.Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol.5, pp.86-98).New York: Agathon.
