Identity Status During the Adult Years: Scoring Criteria

Abstract

According to the identity theory developed in this book, the stages of adolescence and youth are the times in the life span when identity formation is of principal concern. The adult years are viewed as the time when the identity decisions reached earlier are implemented and the individual experiences most deeply the rewards and costs of the commitments that have been made (or the lack thereof). As adults, our self-definitions are repeatedly tested and few if any of the elements comprising our previously established sense of identity are likely to survive unmodified. Identity research with adults is of particular interest on two accounts: (1) to learn the long-term consequences of utilizing the various identity processes during the previous stages in development, and (2) to understand the circumstances leading to reappraisal of previously established identity commitments during the adult years and the differences between the ways in which identity crises are handled by adults compared to adolescents and youths.