No abstract

The aim of this study is to test changes in ethnic identity from two points of view: Marcia's identity status model and ethnic identity literature. Based on 135 participants who completed the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) questionnaires at two times intervals, stability was found at the mean level, while stability, progression and regression were found at the individual level. Transitions from moratorium into achievement were found more than into diffusion. Status changes derived mainly following changes in the commitment component. In line with Erikson's theory, the results highlight the effect of the sociocultural context on the identity formation process, and the need to examine changes in identity formation processes over time, both at the mean level and the individual level. These findings could be relevant to other countries, which are going through similar processes of demographic changes in which the minority challenges the hegemony of the majority.

To examine Erik Erikson's identity exploration styles as developed by James Marcia into the identity status model and expanded by Koen Luyckx et al. (2006), the present longitudinal study traced exploration styles in the ongoing process of religious identity formation in an underinvestigated sociocultural context: Israeli Modern-Orthodox students in posthigh school religious mechina gap-year programs. Modern-Orthodoxy contains inherent tensions between traditional religious observance and secular modernity. Using qualitative methodology, we conducted 158 interviews over 1.5 years with 20 male adolescents (age 18 -20 years) and 3 rabbis heading 3 mechina programs. Content analysis distinguished four styles of religious identity exploration, two previously documented styles (in-depth, in-breadth) and two novel substyles (experiential, directed). In experiential exploration, students "try out" different behavioral religious experiences; if those are unsatisfying and students will not abandon their current commitment, moratorium may lead to foreclosure (see the case of Tom). In directed exploration, students' identity seeking is directed by educators toward one well-recognized alternative; students who reject that doctrine may regress to foreclosure (see the case of Erez). These findings add nuance to identity theory, highlighting the central link between identity and sociocultural context and emphasizing a dynamic model of identity formation in this understudied population.

The aim of this study is to test changes in ethnic identity from two points of view, focusing on Marcia's identity status model and the ethnic identity literature. Based on 135 participants who completed the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) questionnaires at two-time intervals, stability was found at the mean level, while stability, progression and regression were found at the individual level. Transitions from moratorium into achievement were found more than to diffusion and status changes derived mainly following changes in the commitment component. In line with Erikson's theory, the results highlight the effect of the sociocultural context on the identity formation process and the need to examine changes in identity formation processes over time, both at the mean level and the individual level. These findings could be relevant to other countries that are going through similar processes of demographic changes in which the minority challenges the hegemony of the majority.