The relative importance of identity status interview components: replication and extension

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• The Ego Identity Status Interview is a key tool for understanding identity formation.
• Previous research by Rogow et al. (1983) explored identity components, but further investigation into sex differences is warranted.

Purpose of the Study:

• To partially replicate and extend Rogow et al.'s (1983) research on the Ego Identity Status Interview.
• To investigate the relative importance of specific identity components (occupation, religion, politics, sex role beliefs) for both male and female university students.
• To explore potential sex differences in the perception and ranking of identity components.

Main Methods:

• Administered the Ego Identity Status Interview to 80 female and 60 male university students in New Zealand.
• Presented identity components (occupation, religion, politics, sex role beliefs) in a counterbalanced order.
• Asked participants to rank components by importance and explored additional identity concerns via open-ended questions.

Main Results:

• Few significant sex differences were observed in the number of commonly rated content areas.
• Hit rates between single/paired content areas and overall identity ratings showed minimal sex-based variation.
• The rank order of importance for identity contents and reported additional concerns also exhibited few sex differences.

Conclusions:

• Identity should not be considered a unitary construct; a multifaceted approach is more accurate.
• Reporting both component and overall identity status ratings enhances research on identity formation.
• The identity status approach offers a valuable model for clinical research on ego synthesis in late adolescence.