“I Just Can’t”

Abstract

This chapter explores the social and emotional development of emerging adults and focuses on how it contributes to feelings of anxiety, inability to make decisions, uncertainty, and lack of belonging. It provides information on how identity impacts mental health, particularly during this developmental stage. Various theories are discussed, with information provided on the role of the social-cultural content. The Miami Adult Development Project serves as a case study of an identify-focused intervention with mental health outcomes. Guiding questions help readers better understand the role identity development plays in risk and resilience during this “age of uncertainty.”

How Psychological Symptoms Mediate Perceived COVID-19 Stress and Identity Distress in Emerging Adults

“…It would be useful for further research to address specific identity concerns that are most relevant to students in such precarious times and how these may vary across individuals and contexts (Galliher et al, 2017). Such findings would facilitate more directive approaches to supportive services and intervention (e.g., Meca et al, 2022;Meca et al, 2014).…”

Navigating Identity Uncertainty: Identity Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…These findings not only highlight the negative consequences of COVID-19, but more critically, highlight the role that identity distress plays in psychological functioning. As such, echoing recent scholars' call to action (Eichas et al, 2021;Meca et al, 2021), there is a clear need for interventions and prevention programs to target identity distress as a whole, not just during times of uncertainty and large-scale disruptions. This latter point is important to emphasize as colleges return to "normal" and fully transition back to face-to-face instruction.…”

“…Although research on identity-based intervention programs has been limited (Eichas et al, 2021), prior work has indicated that identity distress is amendable to intervention through promotion of positive identity explorations strategies (Meca et al, 2014). Moreover, as recently emphasized by Meca et al (2021), identity-based interventions, and identity theory as a whole carry important implications for higher education professionals working with college students. Indeed, healthy identity development is maintained through frequent positive contact with others and reliable relationships, and necessitates proactive identity exploration which often involves gathering information from advisors and mentors.…”

“…However, due to several structural and sociocultural changes, such as the median age of “adult” milestones being progressively prolonged in tandem with industrialization during the latter half of the 20 th century (Côté, 2019), a substantive amount of identity work today occurs during emerging adulthood (Schwartz, 2016). Indeed, emerging adulthood represents a period in which young people explore various career options, experiment with different types of adult relationships, and consider a number of religious and political systems, as well as their positionality within their specific society and sociocultural historical context (Arnett, 2007; Meca et al, 2021). For some individuals, however, this period is often fraught with worry regarding their future and anxiety associated with the process of reevaluating past choices and exploring new life directions (Côté, 2014).…”

Validation and measurement invariance of a First-Generation College Student Identity Scale.

“…Given that healthy identity development is positively associated with well-being and psychosocial functioning in emerging adults (Meca et al, 2021; Schwartz et al, 2015), as part of shifting away from a purely deficit perspective (Yosso, 2005), research has begun to examine identity in FGCS. Prior research has not only indicated FGCS differed in how salient and central being a FGCS is to their sense of self but also that these differences impact general functioning (Orbe, 2004).…”