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Psychosocial Resources in First-Year University Students: The Role of Identity Processes and Social Relationships

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The investigation involved the assessment of a model predicting that family and university relationship environments are linked with identity processes and identity states (statuses) that predict psychosocial resources among first-year university students. A sample of 351 university students, between the ages of 18 and 21 years, completed measures of psychosocial maturity based on Erikson's notions of ego virtues, a measure of identity processing styles (diffuse-avoidant, normative, and information styles), identity statuses (diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and achievement), measures of family climate (conflict, expression, cohesion), and assessments of university relationships with faculty, advisors, and students. Based on linear structural equations, the model, with some adjustments, had a good fit with the data and demonstrates the complex association between perceived family and school climate, identity formation, and the association with psychosocial resources. The investigation demonstrates how multivariate model testing can be completed to assess some of the complexity suggested by Erik Erikson regarding identity formation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1

    Gerald R. Adams

  2. State University of New York, Cortland, New York, USA

    Michael D. Berzonsky

  3. University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Leo Keating

Authors
  1. Gerald R. Adams
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  2. Michael D. Berzonsky
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  3. Leo Keating
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gerald R. Adams.

Additional information

Gerald R Adams is a Professor of Family Relations and Human Development at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. His major interests focus on family relations, identity development, education, and prevention.

Michael Berzonsky is Professor of Psychology at State University of New York at Cortland, New York. His major interests are identity styles, social cognition, and adolescent development.

Leo Keating is a data analyst at the University of Guelph.

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Adams, G.R., Berzonsky, M.D. & Keating, L. Psychosocial Resources in First-Year University Students: The Role of Identity Processes and Social Relationships. J Youth Adolescence 35, 78–88 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-9019-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-9019-0

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