Recent stressful life events and identity development in emerging adults: An examination of within-person effects
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View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Stressful life events impact identity development in emerging adults. Romantic problems predict within-person changes, while academic, friendship issues, and time pressure relate concurrently to identity processes.
Area Of Science
- Developmental Psychology
- Adolescent Psychology
- Identity Formation
Background
- Theoretical links exist between stressful life events and identity development.
- Limited research has explored longitudinal within-person effects of stress on identity.
- Emerging adulthood is a critical period for identity consolidation.
Purpose Of The Study
- To investigate longitudinal associations between stressful life events and identity processes.
- To differentiate between within-person and between-person effects.
- To examine specific stressors (academic, friendship, romantic, time pressure) and identity processes (exploration, commitment).
Main Methods
- Longitudinal study with three data collection points (T1-T3).
- Sample of 1125 emerging adults (mean age 17.96 years).
- Measured stressful life events and identity exploration/commitment using random-intercept cross-lagged modeling.
Main Results
- Between-person: Higher academic/friendship problems and time pressure linked to more ruminative exploration.
- Between-person: Academic problems associated with weaker commitment-making and exploration.
- Within-person: Increased romantic problems predicted decreased commitment-making and increased ruminative exploration.
Conclusions
- Romantic problems uniquely predict within-person changes in identity processes.
- Academic problems, friendship problems, and time pressure show concurrent associations with identity development.
- Distinguishing between within-person and between-person effects is crucial for understanding stress and identity.
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