Longitudinal patterns of identity formation were analyzed in a representative cohort group of Finnish men and women born in 1959 across ages 27, 36, 42, and 50. The data were drawn from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality. Identity status (diffused, moratorium, foreclosed, achieved) from all four ages was available for 172 participants (54% females). Marcia's Identity Status Interview used in this research included five domains: religious beliefs, political identity, occupational career, intimate relationships, and lifestyle. The findings indicated great variability in identity status across domains at each age level, and the identity trajectories fluctuated from age 27 to 50. The developmental trend from age 27 to 50 was moderately progressive (toward achievement) for the five domains and for overall identity, with the exception of a slightly regressive trend in male religious identity. Remaining stable in the same status category across the four measurements was rare and emerged only for diffusion in the ideological domains. Women generally outnumbered men in identity achievement at earlier ages, but the gender differences diminished in most domains at age 50, except in religious identity. In women overall diffusion decreased over time, but in men it remained at about 20% at ages 42 and 50.

Identity distress involves intense or prolonged upset or worry about personal identity issues including long-term goals, career choice, friendships, sexual orientation and behavior, religion, values and beliefs, and group loyalties. Research suggests that trauma exposure and subsequent PTSD symptoms may negatively impact identity development and psychological adjustment. However, little is known about their specific associations with identity distress and internalizing problems among disaster-exposed adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine these relationships in a sample of 325 adolescents (60% female; 89% African American) who experienced a major natural disaster and its aftermath. The results indicated that identity distress was positively associated with age, hurricane exposure, PTSD symptoms, and internalizing problems. Linear regression analyses also showed that identity distress was uniquely associated with internalizing symptoms and that there was an indirect effect of hurricane exposure on identity distress via PTSD symptoms. Finally, PTSD symptoms moderated the link between identity distress and internalizing symptoms, with a significant positive slope found for youth with more PTSD symptoms. Findings were generally consistent with previous work and predictions, and add to the extant knowledge about identity distress by providing data on the linkages between disaster exposure, posttraumatic stress and internalizing problems in adolescents.

We examined the psychometric properties of scores on a 6-item version of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) among East Asian adolescents in Canada. A series of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted for 4,190 East Asians who completed a provincial survey of students in grades 7 to 12. The MEIM measured highly correlated dimensions of ethnic identity ( and ). Further, multi-group CFA indicated that the scale measured the same constructs on the same metric across three age groups and across four groups with varying degrees of exposure to Canadian and East Asian cultures. The findings suggest the short version of the MEIM can be used to compare levels of ethnic identity across different age or acculturation groups.

The present study examined the relationships of (a) changes in adolescent-reported family functioning and (b) changes in identity confusion to onset of substance use and sexual behavior in a sample of 250 Hispanic adolescents from immigrant families. Adolescents were followed for 3 years. Results indicated that adolescents whose identity confusion scores increased over time were most likely to initiate cigarette use, alcohol use, and sexual behavior during the course of the study. Adolescents whose identity confusion scores remained stable over time were less likely to initiate, and adolescents whose identity confusion scores decreased over time were least likely to initiate. The data were consistent with the proposition that initial levels of and changes in family functioning appeared to be responsible for these associations. Implications for identity research and intervention are discussed.

In this paper we report on a new qualitative instrument designed to study the intersection of identities related to sexuality and race/ethnicity, and how people who hold those identities interact with social contexts. Researchers often resort to using separate measures to assess race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other target identities. But this approach can miss elements of a self-system that stem from the intersection of identities, the interactions between identities and social contexts, related shifts in identity over time, and related changes in the prominence and valence of identities. Using a small sub-sample, we demonstrate how our instrument can help researchers overcome these limitations. Our instrument was also designed for economy in administration and analysis, so that it could be used as a qualitative complement in large survey research.

This study examined the latent personal-social identity profiles that emerged from simultaneous consideration of ethnic, national (United States), and personal identities among ethnic minority college students ( = 3,009) as well as how personal and social identities are jointly associated with self-esteem. Results indicated that the structure of personal-social identity profiles significantly differed across ethnicity, but also indicated some commonalities. The study identified three profiles among Blacks, four among Asian Americans, and two among Latinos. Some personal-social identity profiles were common across multiple ethnic groups, but others were unique within one specific ethnic group. Overall, the profiles indicated important associations between ethnic identity, U.S. identity, and personal identity. These profiles were linked with self-esteem such that individuals who reported high levels of multiple social and personal identities had the highest self-esteem compared to other profiles.

Jewish Americans may grapple with issues of ethnic identity differently than the larger White American group. Drawn from a large multisite sample ( = 8,501), 280 Jewish American (207 female, 73 male) emerging adults were compared with White American and ethnic minority samples on ethnic and U.S. identity. Jewish Americans rated themselves as significantly higher on measures of ethnic and U.S. identity compared with White Americans but not as highly as ethnic minorities. Ethnic identity search, affirmation, and resolution also predicted higher self-esteem for Jewish Americans, similar to the pattern for other ethnic groups. In addition, ethnic identity search and affirmation moderated the link between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms among Jewish Americans.

The authors examined the dimensionality and psychometric properties of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) among Black South African adolescents (ages = 13-14; 52% female) representing several ethnic groups (Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu) and evaluated the measure for differential item functioning primarily among four ethnic groups (Sotho, Tswana, Xhosa, and Zulu). Results indicated that a two-dimensional model best represented the data, reflecting and . Subsequently, we evaluated the equivalence of the MEIM among the four South African ethnic groups and a sample of African American adolescents (  = 15.57 years;  = 1.22; 51% female). Further analyses revealed that configural and metric models were excellent across the four South African ethnic groups and the African American group. However, scalar invariance (i.e., intercept) was not found; the item intercepts were different for the South African ethnic groups and African Americans. Findings are discussed with consideration for conducting research on ethnic identity among youth in South Africa.

African American women's racial identity is a major determinant for how they interpret the world around them, yet there is little research examining how specific aspects of racial identity are linked with attitudes about an event that has been highly significant for African-Americans: the election of President Barack Obama. The current study examined the relationship between African American mothers' racial identity and their perceived significance of the election of President Barack Obama as an indicator of reduced systemic and actual racism for African Americans, using a sample of 110 African American mothers residing in a Northeastern metropolitan area. Results revealed that racial centrality and assimilation positively predicted perceived significance of President Obama's election for diminishing racism. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Identity distress occurs within a variety of psychiatric conditions. Reliable tools for assessing identity-related functioning among clinical populations are greatly needed. The Self- Concept and Identity Measure (SCIM) is a brief self-report scale designed to assess healthy and disturbed identity dimensions. This measure has been validated within normative but not treatment seeking samples. The present study used an confirmatory approach to replicate the SCIM's factor structure among disadvantaged women enrolled in treatment for chemical dependence ( = 216). The original three-factor structure and item loadings generally replicated within this diagnostically diverse, significantly impaired sample. Higher SCIM scores were also associated with other problems, such as emotion dysregulation and depression. Results support the SCIM's use and scoring with clinical populations.

The identity of Americans of Arab or Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent has been relatively understudied within the U.S. racial landscape. Given that the U.S. Census categorizes individuals of MENA descent into the "White" racial category, it is unclear the extent to which Arab/MENA Americans believe they are an ethnic minority in the United States. The current study surveyed 146 individuals of Middle Eastern and North African descent to answer two primary questions: 1) Would you call yourself an Arab or Arab American? 2) Do you consider yourself a minority in the U.S.? Findings indicated that 84% of the current survey participants consider themselves an ethnic minority and 51% are comfortable with the Arab American label. In addition, open ended responses were analyzed to determine the reasons participants answered yes or no to the aforementioned questions. Several themes emerged for each question based on endorsement including the accuracy of the Arab label, and Arab pride, among other themes. In addition, many felt that they were an ethnic minority in the U.S., specifically mentioning experiences with discrimination and lack of representation. Implications of study findings will be discussed.

The current study examined associations between cultural socialization and ethnic-racial identity via positive and negative conversations about one's ethnicity/race. Ethnic-racial differences between Asian American, African American, Latinx, Multiracial, and White students were explored. College students 18-22 ( age = 18.46) participating in a university-wide study provided self-reports of childhood cultural socialization, engagement in conversations about ethnicity/race during college, and ethnic-racial identity. Cultural socialization was associated with more positive conversations about race, and, in turn, greater ethnic-racial identity exploration, resolution, and affirmation among all students. Additionally, among Multiracial and African American students, cultural socialization was associated with greater negative conversations about race and, in turn, less ethnic-racial identity affirmation. Although cultural socialization was not associated with negative conversations about race for Asian American, Latinx, or White students, the relation between greater negative conversations about race and less ethnic-racial identity affirmation was significant. Negative conversations about race also informed greater ethnic-racial identity exploration among all students, but was not associated with ethnic-racial identity resolution. The current study highlights the nuanced ways that childhood cultural socialization and conversations about one's ethnicity/race influence college students' ethnic-racial identity, both similarly and differently among Asian American, African American, Latinx, Multiracial, and White students. Two items created for the current study were used to assess positive and negative conversations about one's ethnicity/race in the past month. Response options for the positive conversation item ("In the past month, I had conversations with someone about something positive about my ethnic-racial group.") and negative conversation item ("In the past month, I had conversations with someone about something negative about my ethnic-racial group.") were scored using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from (1) to (5) . Higher scores indicated more frequent positive conversations and more frequent negative conversations, respectively. Initial support for the validity of the two items for positive and negative conversations about race has been provided by research with emerging adults (Delaney et al., in press).

Emerging adulthood shapes personal, professional, and overall well-being through identity exploration. This study addresses a gap in the minority identity literature by investigating how urban AI/AN emerging adults think about their identity and discussing challenges and protective factors associated with exploring their identity holistically. This mixed-methods study created a sampling framework based on discrimination experiences, cultural identity, social network support, mental health, and problematic substance use. We recruited 20 urban AI/AN emerging adults for interviews. We sought to gain deeper insights into their experiences and discussions surrounding identity formation and exploration. We provide descriptives for demographic characteristics and conducted a thematic analysis of the qualitative data from the interviews. Four themes emerged: a) being an urban AI/AN emerging adult means recognizing that one's identity is multifaceted; b) a multifaceted identity comes with tension of living in multiple worlds; c) the trajectory of one's identity grows over time to a deeper desire to connect with Native American culture; and d) understanding one's Native American background affects one's professional trajectory. Findings underscore the importance of developing programs to support well-being and identity development through cultural connection for urban AI/AN emerging adults.

We investigated the development of professional commitment over time and its relation to work experiences of novice nurses. We used a longitudinal mixed-method approach based on weekly reported quantitative commitment scores and qualitative descriptions of experiences. Specifically, we examined turning points in commitment trajectories and analyzed qualitative characteristics of the turning point. To determine a turning point, we firstly computed a smoothed trajectory for each individual and defined each point beyond the 95% interval of this smoothed trajectory as exceptional. Secondly, we explored whether the commitment development changed after an exceptional point with regard to the slope-valence or commitment strength. The sample consisted of 18 novice nurses. Two third of them revealed at least one turning point, thus the professional commitment development of novice nurses was characterized by peaks and dips that were followed by changes in the commitment development. The analysis showed that turning points followed by positive commitment development typically were characterized by positive experiences. These experiences often concerned relatedness or competence. Turning points followed by a negative development were not consistent: they could be positive, negative, or ambiguous experiences. Many of the negative experiences concerned negative organizational issues. We concluded that there is not a simple relation between commitment development and positive or negative characteristics of an experience. The context and underlying meaning of the experiences should be taken into account to interpret the commitment changes.