Personality, Adjustment, and Identity Style Influences on Stability in Identity and Self-Concept During the Transition to University

Abstract

Drawing on E. H. Erikson's psychosocial development theory, we hypothesized that stability within the self-concept and identity are similar and are regulated by a common set of influences. The participants in this study were 154 first-year undergraduates aged 20 years or younger. They completed surveys at two points 3 months apart. The findings demonstrated a moderate association between identity commitment and self-concept clarity, the two indices of stability in this study. For both measures, multiple regressions revealed that a diffuse-avoidant identity style reduced stability whereas healthy self-evaluation enhanced it. Conversely, variables indicative of defensiveness and self-reflection showed different relations to self-concept clarity and identity commitment. The article discusses how the meaning and regulation of stability are affected by the self-concept's developmental priority and centrality relative to identity.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada institutional grant to Edward Johnson. We thank Joshua Gray, Ross McCallum, Janine Oleski, and Maggie Penfold for their help in collecting the data used in this article. Portions of this research have been reported in Kimberly Nozick's psychology honor's thesis.

Notes

Note. SCC = self-concept clarity; SDE = self-deceptive enhancement.

Note. Gender is coded 0 = female, 1 = male. Norm. = normative; D-A = diffuse-avoidant; Rum. = rumination; Refl. = reflection; SE = self-esteem; SDE = self-deceptive enhancement; Den. = denial; SC = self-compassion; Comm. = identity commitment; SCC1 = self-concept clarity T1; SCC2 = self-concept clarity T2; T1 = Time 1 administration; T2 = Time 2 administration.

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Note. Loadings < .3 not displayed for the sake of clarity.

Note. Factor loading scores were used for the three principal components in each of the regressions. C = component; SCC = self-concept clarity; T1 = Time 1 administration; T2 = Time 2 administration.

†p < .06, *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.