Abstract
While the identity formation of university students has been examined in several cross-sectional studies, few longitudinal studies have investigated this topic. Besides, the relationship between identity formation and gender differences remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the relationship between identity process and gender differences based on longitudinal studies. The participants were 4,790 first-year Japanese university students (62.0% female), who were selected from a large-sample longitudinal survey project (the Transition Project from School to Work/Adult Life). The Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS) was used to assess the identity processes. Latent growth modeling showed a progressive increase in commitment and active exploration, and a stability of maladaptive exploration. Furthermore, compared to men, women tended to deeply explore, worry, and feel less secure about their identity. Additionally, the latent class growth analysis identified six profiles of identity trajectories—achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, searching moratorium, troubled diffusion, and carefree diffusion to troubled diffusion—with foreclosure being the most common trajectory. Furthermore, women tended to belong to the moratorium trajectory, whereas men tended to belong to the troubled diffusion trajectory. We discuss the characteristics of identity formation and gender differences among Japanese university students.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Center for the Promotion of Excellence in Higher Education, Kyoto University and Kawaijuku Educational Institution from 2013 to 2018 and by Kawaijuku Educational Institution from 2019 to the present.
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Hatano, K., Hihara, S., Sugimura, K. et al. Identity formation with gender differences in University students: a three-wave longitudinal study. Curr Psychol 42, 30174–30186 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04036-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04036-4