Differences in cognitive complexity of adolescents with foreclosed and achieved identity status

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the complexity of the self-concept differs based on identity status in late adolescence. Adolescents in the achieved status have a strong sense of identity that has emerged following an intense period of exploration. Adolescents in the foreclosed status also have a strong sense of identity, but they have never been through a period of exploration. It was expected that adolescents in the achieved status would have more complex self-concepts than those in the foreclosed status. 62 university students were classified into the achieved or foreclosed identity status based on their scores on the Extended Version of the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status-2. They then completed a trait sort to measure the complexity of their self-concepts. Complexity scores were calculated based on the H statistic, an index of dispersion derived from information theory. The results were as expected. Possible structural changes underlying the process of developing identity are presented, and the usefulness of structural self-concept models for studying development of identity is examined.