Objective: The present study investigated naturally occurring profiles based on two dimensions of meaning in life: Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. Cluster analysis was used to examine meaning in life profiles and subsequent analyses identified different patterns in psychosocial functioning for each profile.Method: A sample of 8,492 American emerging adults (72.5% women) from 30 colleges and universities completed measures on meaning in life, and positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Results:Results provided support for five meaningful yet distinguishable profiles. A strong generalizability of the cluster solution was found across age, and partial generalizability was found across gender and ethnicity. Furthermore, the five profiles showed specific patterns in relation to positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Specifically, respondents with profiles high on presence of meaning showed the most adaptive psychosocial functioning whereas respondents with profiles where meaning was largely absent showed maladaptive psychosocial functioning. Experiencing meaning in life is an important component of optimal psychological functioning (e.g., Baumeister, 1991; Frankl, 1963). Meaning in life has been defined in terms of coherence, understanding of life, understanding of the world, and purposefulness (e.g., King, Hicks, Krull, & DelGaiso, 2006;Reker & Wong, 1988). It involves forming a sense of coherence in life and investing in important lifelong aspirations (Steger, 2012). Research has indicated that higher levels of meaning in life are associated with more positive emotions and vitality (Brassai, Piko, & Steger, 2010), increased self-esteem (Kiang & Fuligni, 2010), less depressive symptoms (Steger, Mann, Michels, & Cooper, 2009) and lower health-risk behavior (Brassai et al., 2010). Conclusion Presence of Meaning and Search for MeaningMeaning in life is often approached as a broad concept containing cognitive components (e.g., the understandings of who we are), motivational goal-directed components (e.g., identification and pursuit of purpose), and affective components (e.g., feeling that life makes sense) (see Reker & Wong, 1988). Steger and colleagues (2006) further developed this conceptual idea into a clear distinction between two dimensions of meaning in life. The first aspect, Presence of Meaning, encompasses whether individuals perceive their lives as significant, purposeful, and valuable. It refers to the comprehension of oneself and the surrounding world, the understanding of how one fits into the world, and the clarity of one's goals and desires (King et al., 2006). Presence of Meaning can be regarded as a highly desired psychological quality ("my life is meaningful") (Steger, Kawabata, Shimai, & Otake, 2008).The second dimension, Search for Meaning, refers to the strength, intensity, and activity of people's efforts to establish or increase their understanding of the meaning and purpose of their lives. It refers to the process of how individuals develop their sense of mea...

Latino parents can experience acculturation stressors, and according to the Family Stress Model, parent stress can influence youth mental health and substance use by negatively affecting family functioning. To understand how acculturation stressors come together and unfold over time to influence youth mental health and substance use outcomes, the current study investigated the trajectory of a latent parent acculturation stress factor and its influence on youth mental health and substance use via parent-and youth-reported family functioning. Data came from a six-wave, school-based survey with 302 recent (< 5 years) immigrant Latino parents (74% mothers, M age = 41.09 years) and their adolescents (47% female, M age = 14.51 years). Parents’ reports of discrimination, negative context of reception, and acculturative stress loaded onto a latent factor of acculturation stress at each of the first four time points. Earlier levels of and increases in parent acculturation stress predicted worse youth-reported family functioning. Additionally, earlier levels of parent acculturation stress predicted worse parent-reported family functioning and increases in parent acculturation stress predicted better parent-reported family functioning. While youth-reported positive family functioning predicted higher self-esteem, lower symptoms of depression, lower aggressive and rule-breaking behavior in youth, parent-reported family positive functioning predicted lower youth alcohol and cigarette use. Findings highlight the need for Latino youth preventive interventions to target parent acculturation stress and family functioning.

This study examined, in a sample of recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents in Miami and Los Angeles, the extent to which bicultural identity integration (BII; involving the ability to synthesise one's heritage and receiving cultural streams and to identify as a member of both cultures) is best understood as a developmental construct that changes over time or as an individual-difference construct that is largely stable over time. We were also interested in the extent to which these trajectories predicted mental health and family functioning. Recent-immigrant 9th graders (N = 302) were assessed 6 times from 9th to 12th grade. Latent class growth analyses using the first 5 timepoints identified 2 trajectory classes-one with lower BII scores over time and another with higher BII scores over time. Higher heritage and US identity at baseline predicted membership in the higher BII class. At the 6th study timepoint, lower BII adolescents reported significantly poorer self-esteem, optimism, prosocial behaviour and family relationships compared with their higher BII counterparts. These findings are discussed in terms of further research on the over-time trajectory of biculturalism, and on the need to develop interventions to promote BII as a way of facilitating well-being and positive family functioning.

The present article presents a review of identity status-based theory and research with adolescents and emerging adults, with some coverage of related approaches such as narrative identity and identity style. In the first section, we review Erikson’s theory of identity and early identity status research examining differences in personality and cognitive variables across statuses. We then review two contemporary identity models that extend identity status theory and explicitly frame identity development as a dynamic and iterative process. We also review work that has focused on specific domains of identity. The second section of the article discusses mental and physical health correlates of identity processes and statuses. The article concludes with recommendations for future identity research with adolescent and emerging adult populations.

Objectives This study examined directionality between personal (i.e., coherence and confusion) and cultural identity (i.e., ethnic and US) as well as their additive effects on psychosocial functioning in a sample of recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents. Methods The sample consisted of 302 recent (<5 years) immigrant Hispanic adolescents (53% boys; Mage = 14.51 years at baseline; SD = .88 years) from Miami and Los Angeles who participated in a longitudinal study. Results Results indicated a bidirectional relationship between personal identity coherence and both ethnic and US identity. Ethnic and US Affirmation/Commitment (A/C) positively and indirectly predicted optimism and negatively predicted rule breaking and aggression through coherence. However, confusion predicted lower self-esteem and optimism and higher depressive symptoms, rule breaking, unprotected sex, and cigarette use. Results further indicated significant site differences. In Los Angeles (but not Miami), ethnic A/C also negatively predicted confusion. Conclusion Given the direct effects of coherence and confusion on nearly every outcome, it may be beneficial for interventions to target personal identity. However, in contexts such as Los Angeles, which has at least some ambivalence towards recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents, it may be more beneficial for interventions to also target cultural identity to reduce confusion and thus promote positive development.