The results of an empirical investigation with 122 university students are discussed in terms of J. E. Marcia's identity status paradigm. E. H. Erikson's notions of institutionalized moratoria, value orientation stages, and the ego-superego struggle for dominance of the personality are related to the identity status categories to the degree that…

Explores a link between the psychologically oriented identity status paradigm, and the sociologically oriented individualization theory. The primary link between these two approaches appears to be that the individualization process can be operationalized in terms of agency in identity formation. Concludes that identity statuses representing…

The study of emerging adulthood--the prolonged transition to adulthood extending into the 20s--is a rapidly growing area of research. Although identity issues are prominent during this period, the role of personal agency and individualization in the identity formation process during these years is not well understood. This study examines three…

Presents an Eriksonian analysis of the impact of traditionalism and feminism on the identity formation of university-attending women and postulates four "identity strategies": traditionalism, ambivalent semi-traditionalism, confident semi-traditionalism, and feminism. Describes a study assessing the reliability and validity of an…

The controversy between Margaret Mead and Derek Freeman about Mead's work (1928) on coming of age in Samoa in the 1920s is analyzed. Freeman's claim to have refuted Mead's findings can be easily refuted itself. Mead's study, arguing that adolescent turmoil is not universal, stands the test of time. (SLD)

Extends previous research on the theory of ego identity formation of E. Erikson by investigating the role of several factors in the psychosocial development of university professors. A survey of 623 Canadian academics supports Eriksonian ideas about childhood superego formation and psychosocial crises experienced during adolescence. (SLD)