Identity status among young adults: Validation of the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS) in a Finnish sample

Abstract

Theory and empirical findings suggest that sociohistorical changes have made identity formation a precarious developmental process in contemporary Western societies. Firm commitments may be delayed until the late twenties or discarded altogether. We tested the reliability and factorial validity of a recently developed five-dimensional process model of identity development – Dimensions of Identity Development Scale – in order to evaluate identity formation among Finnish young adults (N = 751, M_age = 24.6, 60.3% women) in a cross-cultural perspective. Results showed that the hypothesized five-factor model could not be confirmed as such. Instead a six-factor model, encountered only recently in two other studies, suited the sample data better. All six identity dimensions were internally and externally correlated as hypothesized and the identity status cluster solution that emerged matched previous results with one exception. Further, the surprisingly high prevalence of diffused and uncertain individuals in our sample may indicate effects of sociohistorical factors specific to a Finnish cultural context.

Keywords:

• identity status
• carefree identity diffusion
• ruminative exploration
• the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale