Abstract
The development of personal and social identity is crucial in adolescence. On the one hand, adolescents face the task of forming and consolidating their personal identity in multiple domains, with educational and interpersonal domains particularly salient. On the other hand, they enlarge their social horizon and increasingly define themselves as members of multiple peer groups, such as groups of classmates and friends met outside school. There is however a lack of integrative research on the interplay among and between personal and social identity processes. Hence the purpose of this study was threefold. First, we examined how personal identity processes in the educational and interpersonal domains are associated longitudinally. Second, we investigated to what extent social identifications with classmates and with the group of friends are associated over time. Third, with an original approach we examined the longitudinal interplay between personal and social identity processes, to connect theoretical contributions that have so far proceeded largely in parallel. Participants were 304 adolescents (61.84% female, M age = 17.49) involved in a three-wave longitudinal study. We found that (a) the ways in which adolescents develop their identity in the educational and interpersonal domains become more closely intertwined over time; (b) identifications with classmates and with the group of friends are interconnected; and (c) personal and social identity processes are associated both concurrently and longitudinally, with most cross-lagged effects showing that social identifications influence personal identity formation and consolidation in the interpersonal identity domain. Theoretical implications are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
As a preliminary step, we tested longitudinal measurement invariance to establish whether the measurement model with 8 latent variables (educational commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment; interpersonal commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment; social identification with classmates and with the group of friends) for each wave (for a total of 24 latent variables) and single items as observed indicators was invariant across time. To this end, we compared the configural (baseline) model with the metric model, in which factor loadings were constrained to be equal across time. Model comparisons, conducted considering changes in fit indices (e.g., Chen 2007), indicated that metric invariance could be clearly established. Therefore, we could reliably proceed with analyses aimed at unveiling over time associations among all study variables (Little 2013).
As ancillary sensitivity analyses we checked whether our findings were replicated across gender subgroups. To this end, we ran the model for boys and girls separately and we compared this unconstrained model with models in which cross-lagged paths (Δχ SB 2 = 66.923, Δdf = 57, p = .173, ΔCFI = −.004, ΔRMSEA = −.003), T1 correlations (Δχ SB 2 = 40.085, Δdf = 28, p = .065, ΔCFI = −.004, ΔRMSEA = −.001), and T2–T3 correlations (Δχ SB 2 = 68.558, Δdf = 28, p = .000, ΔCFI = −.015, ΔRMSEA = .004) were constrained to be equal across gender groups. Model comparisons indicated that cross-lagged effects and T1 correlations were similar across gender groups, while there were significant gender differences between T2–T3 correlations. Follow-up pairwise comparisons conducted with the Wald test revealed that only 3 out of 28 correlations were significantly different (p s < .05) across gender groups: in-depth exploration and reconsideration of commitment (both within and across educational and interpersonal domains) were positively and significantly related only in boys, while they were not significantly related in girls.
References
Albarello, F., & Rubini, M. (2012). Reducing dehumanisation outcomes towards blacks: The role of multiple categorisation and of human identity. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 875–882. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1902.
Albarello, F., Crisp, R., & Rubini, M. (2017). Promoting beliefs in the inalienability of human rights by attributing uniquely human emotions through multiple categorization. Journal of Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2017.1346581.
Arnett, J. J. (2012). Adolescence and emerging adulthood: a cultural approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Becht, A. I., Nelemans, S. A., Branje, S. J. T., Vollebergh, W. A. M., Koot, H. M., Denissen, J. J. A., & Meeus, W. (2016). The quest for identity in adolescence: Heterogeneity in daily identity formation and psychological adjustment across 5 years. Developmental Psychology, 52, 2010–2021. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000245.
Benish-Weisman, M., Daniel, E., Schiefer, D., Möllering, A., & Knafo-Noam, A. (2015). Multiple social identifications and adolescents’ self-esteem. Journal of Adolescence, 44, 21–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.06.008.
Bosma, H. A. (1985). Identity development in adolescence: Coping with commitments. Groningen: Rijksuniversiteit. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).
Bosma, H. A., & Kunnen, E. S. (2008). Identity-in-context is not yet identity development-in-context. Journal of Adolescence, 31, 281–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.03.001.
Brandstätter, V., Ellemers, N., Gaviria, E., Giosue, F., Huguet, P., Kroon, M., ... & Perez, J. A. (1991). Indirect majority and minority influence: An exploratory study. European Journal of Social Psychology, 21, 199–211. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420210303.
Branje, S., Laninga-Wijnen, L., Yu, R., & Meeus, W. (2014). Associations among school and friendship identity in adolescence and romantic relationships and work in emerging adulthood. Emerging Adulthood, 2, 6–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696813515851.
Brown, B. B. (1990). Peer groups and peer cultures. In S. S. Feldman & G. R. Elliott (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent (pp. 171–196). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Brown, B. B. (2004). Adolescents’ relationships with peers. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 363–394). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Brown, B. B., & Larson, J. (2009). Peer relationships in adolescence. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (3rd ed., pp. 74–103). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Byrne, B. M. (2012). Structural equation modeling with Mplus: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 14, 464–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701301834.
Crocetti, E. (2017). Identity formation in adolescence: The dynamic of forming and consolidating identity commitments. Child Development Perspectives, 11, 145–150. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12226.
Crocetti, E., Avanzi, L., Hawk, S. T., Fraccaroli, F., & Meeus, W. (2014). Personal and social facets of job identity: A person-centered approach. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29, 281–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-013-9313-x.
Crocetti, E., Branje, S., Rubini, M., Koot, H. M., & Meeus, W. (2017). Identity processes and parent–child and sibling relationships in adolescence: A five-wave multi-informant longitudinal study. Child Development, 88, 210–228. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12547.
Crocetti, E., Cieciuch, J., Gao, C. H., Klimstra, T., Lin, C. L., Matos, P. M., et al. (2015). National and gender measurement invariance of the Utrecht Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS): A ten-nation study. Assessment, 22, 753–768. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191115584969.
Crocetti, E., Rubini, M., & Meeus, W. (2008). Capturing the dynamics of identity formation in various ethnic groups: Development and validation of a three-dimensional model. Journal of Adolescence, 31, 207–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2007.09.002.
Crocetti, E., Schwartz, S. J., Fermani, A., & Meeus, W. (2010). The Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS): Italian validation and cross-national comparisons. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 26, 172–186. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000024.
Crocetti, E., Scrignaro, M., Sica, L. S., & Magrin, M. E. (2012). Correlates of identity configurations: Three studies with adolescent and emerging adult cohorts. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 732–748. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9702-2.
Ellemers, N., Kortekaas, P., & Ouwerkerk, J. W. (1999). Self-categorisation, commitment to the group and group self-esteem as related but distinct aspects of social identity. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 371–389. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199903/05)29:2/3<371::AID-EJSP932>3.0.CO;2-U.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crises. New York, NY: Norton.
Fadjukoff, P., Pulkkinen, L., & Kokko, K. (2005). Identity processes in adulthood: Diverging domains. Identity, 5, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532706xid0501_1.
Goossens, L. (2001). Global versus domain-specific statuses in identity research: A comparison of two self-report measures. Journal of Adolescence, 24, 681–699. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2001.0438.
Grotevant, H. D., Thorbecke, W., & Meyer, M. L. (1982). An extension of Marcia’s identity status interview into the interpersonal domain. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 11, 33–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537815.
Hamilton, D. L., Sherman, S. J., & Lickel, B. (1998). Perceiving social groups: The importance of the entitativity continuum. In C. Sedikides, J. Schopler & C. A. Insko (Eds.), Intergroup cognition and intergroup behavior (pp. 47–74). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hartup, W. W. (2005). Peer interaction: What causes what? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 387–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-005-3578-0.
Helsen, M., Vollebergh, W., & Meeus, W. (2000). Social support from parents and friends and emotional problems in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29, 319–335. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005147708827.
Hewlett, B. L. (Ed.), (2013). Adolescent identity: Evolutionary, cultural and developmental perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge.
Jensen, L. A. (Ed.), (2011). Bridging cultural and developmental approaches to psychology: New syntheses in theory, research, and policy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Kelloway, K. E. (2015). Using Mplus for structural equation modelling (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Klimstra, T. A., Luyckx, K., Hale, III, W. W., Frijns, W., Van Lier, P. A. C., & Meeus, W. (2010). Short-term fluctuations in identity: Introducing a micro-level approach to identity formation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 191–202. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019584.
Knifsend, C. A., & Juvonen, J. (2013). The role of social identity complexity in inter-group attitudes among young adolescents. Social Development, 22, 623–640. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2012.00672.x.
Knifsend, C. A., & Juvonen, J. (2014). Social identity complexity, cross-ethnic friendships, and intergroup attitudes in urban middle schools. Child Development, 85, 709–721. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12157.
Kuhn, D. (2009). Adolescent thinking. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 152–186). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Lewin, K. (1948). Resolving social conflict. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
Little, R. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83, 1198–1202. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1988.10478722.
Little, T. D. (2013). Longitudinal structural equation modeling. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Luyckx, K., Seiffge-Krenke, I., Schwartz, S. J., Crocetti, E., & Klimstra, T. A. (2014). Identity configurations across love and work in emerging adults in romantic relationships. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 35, 192–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2014.03.007.
Marcia, J. E. (1993). The ego identity status approach to ego identity. In J. E. Marcia, A. S. Waterman, D. R. Matteson, S. L. Archer & J. L. Orlofsky (Eds.), Ego identity: A handbook for psychosocial research (pp. 1–21). New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.
McLean, K. C. & Syed, M. (Eds.), (2014). The Oxford handbook of identity development. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
McLean, K. C., Syed, M., & Shucard, H. (2016). Bringing identity content to the fore: Links to identity development processes. Emerging Adulthood, 4, 356–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696815626820.
McLean, K. C., Syed, M., Yoder, A., & Greenhoot, A. F. (2014). The role of domain content in understanding identity development processes. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 26, 60–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12169.
Meeus, W. (2011). The study of adolescent identity formation 2000–2010: A review of longitudinal research. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 75–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00716.x.
Meeus, W., Iedema, J., Helsen, M., & Vollebergh, W. (1999). Patterns of adolescent identity development: Review of literature and longitudinal analysis. Developmental Review, 19, 419–461. https://doi.org/10.1006/drev.1999.0483.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2017). Mplus User’s Guide (8th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
Palmonari, A., Kirchler, E., & Pombeni, M. L. (1991). Differential effects of identification with family and peers on coping with developmental tasks in adolescence. European Journal of Social Psychology, 21, 381–402. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420210503.
Palmonari, A., Pombeni, M. L., & Kirchler, E. (1990). Adolescents and their peer groups: A study on the significance of peers, social categorization processes and coping with developmental tasks. Social Behaviour, 5, 33–48.
Palmonari, A., Pombeni, M. L., & Kirchler, E. (1992). Evolution of the self concept in adolescence and social categorization processes. European Review of Social Psychology, 3, 285–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/14792779243000096.
Prati, F., Crisp, R. J., Meleady, R., & Rubini, M. (2016a). Humanizing outgroups through multiple categorization: The roles of individuation and threat. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 526–539. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167216636624.
Prati, F., Crisp, R. J., Pratto, F., & Rubini, M. (2016b). Encouraging majority support for immigrant access to health services: Multiple categorization and social identity complexity as antecedents of health equality. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 19, 426–438. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430216629814.
Rubini, M., & Palmonari, A. (2006). Adolescents’ relationships to institutional order. In S. Jackson & L. Goossens (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent development (pp. 264–283). Hove, NY: Psychology Press.
Satorra, A., & Bentler, P. M. (2001). A scaled difference chi-square test statistic for moment structure analysis. Psychometrika, 66, 507–514.
Schwartz, S. J., Luyckx, K., & Vignoles, V. L. (2011). Handbook of identity theory and research. New York, NY: Springer.
Sherif, M., & Sherif, C. W. (1964). Reference groups: Exploration into conformity and deviation of adolescents. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of social conflicts. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks-Cole.
Tanti, C., Stukas, A. A., Halloran, M. J., & Foddy, M. (2011). Social identity change: Shifts in social identity during adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 555–567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.05.012.
Tarrant, M. (2002). Adolescent peer groups and social identity. Social Development, 11, 110–123. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9507.00189.
Tarrant, M., North, A. C., Edridge, M. D., Kirk, L. E., Smith, E. A., & Turner, R. E. (2001). Social identity in adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 24, 597–609. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2000.0392.
Thomas, W. E., Brown, R., Easterbrook, M. J., Vignoles, V. L., Manzi, C., D’Angelo, C., & Holt, J. J. (2017). Social identification in sports teams: The role of personal, social, and collective identities motives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43, 508–523. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167216689051.
Triandis, H. C. (2001). Individualism-collectivism and personality. Journal of Personality, 69, 907–924. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494.696169.
Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. New York, NY: Basil Blackwell.
Vignoles, V. L., Schwartz, S. J., & Luyckx, K. (2011). Introduction: Toward an integrative view of identity. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 1–27). New York, NY: Springer.
Funding
This research was undertaken with the partial financial support by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, strategic partnership project “Innovative Curriculum for Strong Identities in Diverse Europe (INSIDE)” (No. 2016-1-LT01-KA203-023220) and by a research grant from the Department of Psychology of the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (Rep. 96 Prot.n.1681).
Authors’ Contributions
FA and EC contributed equally to the article. FA and EC conceived of the current study, participated in its design and coordination, performed the statistical analyses, and wrote the manuscript; MR participated in the design of the study and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Data Sharing Declaration
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Ethics Committee of the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (Italy) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants (and from their parents, if minors) included in the study.
Additional information
Flavia Albarello and Elisabetta Crocetti equally contributed to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Albarello, F., Crocetti, E. & Rubini, M. I and Us: A Longitudinal Study on the Interplay of Personal and Social Identity in Adolescence. J Youth Adolescence 47, 689–702 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0791-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0791-4