Gender differences in identity development: an examination of longitudinal data

Longitudinal data from 105 junior high school students were analyzed to examine the relationship between gender and identity development over time. Analysis of variance, t tests, and analysis of covariance were employed. Taken collectively, results indicated that patterns of change over time were similar for males and females; as the students aged, they grew in psychosocial maturity regardless of gender. These results are consistent with other work using Eriksonian-based assessment instruments. Gilligan, using ethnographic methodology and a framework at odds with Erikson's, has proposed a very different interpretation of development across gender. Perhaps the two methodologies and the concomitant findings should be considered in a complementary fashion in view of the complex societal forces imposed upon females as they progress in their identity development.