Identity dynamics in adolescence: Processes, antecedents, and consequences^*

* This paper is based on my keynote address at the 24th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), Vilnius, Lithuania.

Abstract

Identity formation is the core developmental task of adolescence. The three-factor identity model provides a parsimonious framework for unraveling the dynamic process by which youth form and revise their identity over time. In this article, studies conducted with the three-factor model are reviewed, showing how they can provide new insights to address three main questions: (a) How do adolescents develop their identity? (b) How is adolescent identity related to well-being and psychosocial functioning? (c) How does the cultural context in which adolescents come of age influence this process? Importantly, the extent to which adolescents are successful in forming and maintaining a stable identity is influenced by the context in which they live, and is strongly intertwined with their psychosocial functioning.

Keywords:

• Identity processes
• identity statuses
• well-being
• culture
• longitudinal

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to my mentors and colleagues for continuously inspiring me and stimulating new identity questions.

Notes

* This paper is based on my keynote address at the 24th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD), Vilnius, Lithuania.

1 A dual-cycle process has been also proposed in the integrative five-dimensional model developed by Luyckx et al. (Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006; Luyckx et al., 2008). For a review of the research on the five-dimensional model see Luyckx, Schwartz, Goossens, Beyers, and Missotten (2011) and for a discussion of similarities and differences between the three-factor model and the five-dimensional model see Crocetti (2017) and Meeus (2011).