Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale: Validation in Spanish University Students

Abstract

The Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) has already been validated in nine languages and has had a major scientific impact. Thus, the aim of this study was to validate this instrument in its Spanish version, one of the most important languages in the world. We analyzed the psychometric properties of the scale, applied to a sample of 378 students of the Faculty of Education at the University of Cordoba. The scale consists of 13 items, divided into three dimensions of the process of identity: commitments, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of the commitments. In this report, the factorial three-dimensional model of process identity is confirmed and shows that the instrument is reliable for measuring the educational, social or global identity of the individual.

Adapting the Utrecht‐Management of Identity Commitments Scale to assess engineering identity formation

“…In a sample including undergraduate students from 10 nations (n = 6118), Crocetti et al (2015) investigated the factor structure of the U-MICS in education and found that commitment was positively correlated with in-depth exploration (r = .50); commitment was negatively correlated with reconsideration of commitment (r = À.32); and in-depth exploration was not related to reconsideration of commitment (r = À.07). A similar pattern of factor correlations was found in studies focusing on global identity (education and relational) for undergraduate students in France (Zimmermann et al, 2012) and Spain (Llorent & Alamo, 2018): commitment was positively related to in-depth exploration (r = .43-.75); commitment was negatively related to reconsideration of commitment (r = À.26 to À.20); and in-depth exploration was not related to reconsideration of commitment (r = À.06 to .04).…”

“…Consistent evidence has supported the three-dimensional model of identity formation, including commitment, indepth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment among undergraduate students (Crocetti et al, 2015;Llorent & Alamo, 2018;Zimmermann et al, 2012). In a sample including undergraduate students from 10 nations (n = 6118), Crocetti et al (2015) investigated the factor structure of the U-MICS in education and found that commitment was positively correlated with in-depth exploration (r = .50); commitment was negatively correlated with reconsideration of commitment (r = À.32); and in-depth exploration was not related to reconsideration of commitment (r = À.07).…”

“…The cumulative empirical evidence regarding the well-established factor structure and reliability of the U-MICS for assessing identity formation in a variety of life domains (Llorent & Alamo, 2018;Zimmermann et al, 2012), especially in education (Crocetti et al, 2015;Negru-Subtirica et al, 2017), suggests that it is plausible to adapt the U-MICS to assess engineering identity formation. Identification with an engineering major is an important life choice for engineering students because it defines who they are and shapes the career they will pursue.…”

“…There is ample evidence supporting the potential of adapting the U-MICS for assessing engineering identity formation. The U-MICS has been adapted for assessing identity formation processes in a variety of life domains, such as education (Crocetti et al, 2015) and job (Schubach et al, 2017), for different populations, such as adolescents (Crocetti et al, 2008) and undergraduate students (Llorent & Alamo, 2018;Zimmermann et al, 2012), across different nations, such as Italy, Turkey, China, among others (Crocetti et al, 2015). The three-dimensional model of identity formation has been repeatedly ascertained in prior research, so testing the fit of a priori defined factor structure to the data is appropriate.…”

Contemporary views on personal identity formation

“…Both questionnaires are self-report tools and enable measuring identity processes in various domains. The U-MICS questionnaire was validated in various countries and cultures, such as: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Turkey (see: Crocetti et al, 2015;Dimitrova et al, 2015, Llorent & Alamo, 2018. Inspired by the three-factor model and U-MICS questionnaire, modified the original U-MICS scale by adding bi-directional scoring to the commitment subscale and including eight identity domains previously identified in qualitative studies to be the most important for identity in emerging adulthood -the number of items per domain was unchanged.…”