What is it about?
Identity is an important part of overall wellness and development, though we do not currently understand how it develops. The authors studied 192 college students to try to be able to understand what factors of identity development are significant. This was done by looking at the concept of identity status and working to see if certain variables (attachment, differentiation of self, mood, approach to communication, and personal narrative) can predict someone's identity status.
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Why is it important?
Many researchers have studied identity status and found that identity status has significant connections to wellness. Specifically, certain identity statuses (identity foreclosure and achievement) are correlated with greater wellness and less psychological distress. The commitment to identity is what past research has shown leads to these mental health benefits. What is currently missing is a better understanding of what leads people to commit to identities, and this article discusses some important variables (attachment, differentiation of self, mood, approach to communication, and personal narrative) could be used to predict identity status. The researchers of this study built off previous research to complete a more comprehensive investigation of how we can understand what contributes to different identity statuses and possibly the corresponding mental health benefits.
Perspectives
I see that this article is part of a pathway towards a greater understanding of identity development. Identity development is very complex, and there are likely a lot of factors involved in how we form and even reform our identities. For professional counselors, I see that we need a better understanding of identity formation/development and that by understanding this process more, we can help our clients move through identity development better and allow them to experience the well documented benefits of committing to their identities.
Ben Willis
University of Scranton
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Predicting Identity Status: The Role of Attachment, Differentiation, and Meaning Making, Adultspan Journal, October 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/adsp.12037.
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