Personality development from adolescence to emerging adulthood: Linking trajectories of ego development to the family context and identity formation.

Abstract

This longitudinal study analyzed personality development using an individual approach by examining changes in ego development across the transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Specifically, the study mapped the heterogeniety in ego development growth trajectories and linked the different trajectories to the family context in adolescence and identity development in emerging adulthood. Participants were 98 families with a child who were followed from age 14 to age 24. Latent class growth analysis identified 4 distinct trajectories of growth in ego development of the children over the 10-year period. The results indicated that growth was more rapid during adolescence and tended to taper off in emerging adulthood. In addition, promotion of personal growth within the family and parents' ego development were particulary instrumental in children's ego developmental gains in adolescence. Finally, youth who demonstrated continued ego development into emerging adulthood also demonstrated heightened levels of identity exploration.

Personal, Master, and Alternative Narratives: An Integrative Framework for Understanding Identity Development in Context

“…The latter conceptualization of agency is what is most clearly at stake in the context of master narratives, and is manifest in the dynamic between the processes of internalization and negotiation. Overall, our model of master narratives departs from existing theories of identity development in that we place much greater emphasis on the importance of those objective constraints to agency, which is in contrast to models that place a strong emphasis on personal (or context-based) agency [e.g., McAdams, 1993;Waterman, 2015], including our own prior work Syed & Seiffge-Krenke, 2013]. The emphasis on agency is, of course, consistent with the values and master narratives of the U.S. culture in which these approaches were developed.…”

Identity: Commentary: Identity Development: Dialogue Between Normative and Pathological Developmental Approaches

“…Once that commitment was achieved, roles, beliefs, and ideologies could serve the function of creating psychological continuity and coherence amidst life's changes (Erikson, 1968;Goth et al, 2012) and of providing guidance and structure for the person's future. Three dimensions of identity are understood as important by normative and psychopathology researchers, although different emphases are evident for particular authors (Chandler et al, 2003;Goth et al, 2012;Kroger, in press;McLean & Pasupathi, 2012;Pasupathi, in press;Schachter, 2004;Syed & Seiffge-Krenke, 2013). These are continuity (being the same person over time), coherence (being able to see varied roles, beliefs, and identities as part of an integrated whole), and distinctiveness (seeing the self as unique and distinct from others).…”

Hope, optimism and loneliness among first-year college students with learning disabilities: a brief longitudinal study

“…Emerging adulthood is a phase of life between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood, when young men and women become more independent and explore new life possibilities (Syed and Seiffge-Krenke 2013). During this developmental stage, the transition to college is an especially challenging period for students given the need to meet extended academic demands within new social networks (Salmela-Aro et al 2014).…”