Modes of personal identity formation: A preliminary picture from the lifespan perspective

Publication date: 1 February 2019Source: Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 138Author(s): Ewa Topolewska-Siedzik, Jan CieciuchAbstractThe present study investigates eight identity formation modes (Socialization, Consolidation, Exploration, Moratorivity, Defiance, Diffusion, Normativity) from the Circumplex of Identity Formation Modes (CIFM; Cieciuch & Topolewska, 2017) in 13 age groups from emerging to late adulthood (N = 3216 adults aged 18–65). The results suggest that CIFM modes associated with cohesive identity development increase with age and that CIFM identity formation modes associated with negative identity and anxiety decrease in subsequent age groups. However, the CIFM mode associated with identity activity, i.e Exploration and its opposite pole — Petrification show a curvilinear trend with age. Finally, the mean-level of the Diffusion mode is the same across all age groups. The study confirms that the CIFM's eight identity formation modes represent qualitatively distinct approaches to identity formation, which differ between age groups in a theoretically consistent manner.

Source: Personality and Individual Differences - October 16, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research