Relations between Identity Formation and Family Characteristics among Young Adults
- 1 November 2003
- journal article
- other
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Family Issues
- Vol. 24 (8) , 966-980
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X03256156
Abstract
Relations between identity formation and family characteristics among young adults were examined. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales II and the Ego Process Questionnaire were administered to 57 male and 94 female college students between the ages of 18 and 25. There were 78 Caucasian and 73 African American youth. Significant relations were found between identity exploration and commitment, and family cohesion and adaptability. In addition, moderating effects of race and gender also were found for relations between identity formation and family variables for this sample of young adults. African American participants were found to explore interpersonally more often than Caucasians when family cohesion and family adaptability were low. Family cohesion was positively related to interpersonal and ideological identity commitments for males but only for interpersonal commitment for females. Implications for future research are addressed.Keywords
This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
- A socially contextualized model of African American identity: Possible selves and school persistence.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1995
- The Transition to Young Adulthood: Generational Boundary Dissolution and Female Identity DevelopmentFamily Process, 1993
- A Test of the Olson Circumplex Model: Examining Its Curvilinear Assumption and the Presence of Extreme TypesFamily Process, 1990
- Ethnic identity in college students from four ethnic groupsJournal of Adolescence, 1990
- Individuation in Family RelationshipsHuman Development, 1986
- A Developmental Model for Family SystemsFamily Process, 1985
- Ego identity, intimacy, sex role orientation, and gender.Developmental Psychology, 1985
- The Contribution of the Family to the Facilitation of Identity Formation in Early AdolescenceThe Journal of Early Adolescence, 1983
- Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems: Vl. Theoretical UpdateFamily Process, 1983
- Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems: I. Cohesion and Adaptability Dimensions, Family Types, and Clinical ApplicationsFamily Process, 1979