Heather L. Lawford

Community and religious involvement as contexts of identity change across late adolescence and emerging adulthood

Latent growth curve modeling was used to describe longitudinal trends in community and religious involvement and Marcia’s (1966) four identity statuses (diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and achievement), as well as to assess relations between involvement and identity change. Cross-lagged regression models explored temporal ordering of relations between involvement and identity. The study involved 418 participants (Wave 1 M age = 17.44, SD = .81) over four occasions. Individuals on average showed decreases in community and religious involvement, identity diffusion, foreclosure, and moratorium, and no significant change in identity achievement. For community involvement, rates of change were related negatively to those for diffusion and positively to those for achievement. For religious involvement, rates of change correlated negatively with those for diffusion and moratorium, and positively with those for foreclosure. Cross-lagged models showed some effects in the expected direction (involvement to identity), as well as some reciprocal effects. All analyses were conducted for overall identity status as well as the three domains within each status (political, religious, and occupational). In short, the present study provides evidence for community and religious involvement as contexts facilitative of identity formation in late adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Positive Parenting in Adolescence and Its Relation to Low Point Narration and Identity Status in Emerging Adulthood: A Longitudinal Analysis

In this longitudinal study, we examined identity development using the life story model (McAdams, 2001), in addition to a traditional identity status approach, in order to explore the association between perceived parenting in adolescence and the subsequent quality of life story narration in emerging adulthood. Participants (N = 100) were given a battery of questionnaires at ages 17 and 26 years and were asked to narrate a story at age 26 about their most difficult life experience. Low point narratives were analyzed for evidence of concluding clarity, resolution, and affective tone, termed coherent positive resolution (Pals, 2006). Structural equation modeling showed that participants who experienced more positive parenting at age 17 narrated their low points with clearer evidence of coherent positive resolution at age 26. Coherent positive resolution of the low point was also related to concurrent measures of identity achievement and emotional adjustment at age 26. Discussion centers on the potential impact of positive parenting as a contributor to healthy low point narration and identity in emerging adulthood.

Personal Stories of Empathy in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Age-related and individual differences in adolescents’ and emerging adults’ stories of real-life empathic and nonempathic experiences were examined. A total of 29 adolescents (M = 15.28, SD = .99) and 31 emerging adults (M = 18.23, SD = .56) told stories of empathic and nonempathic life events and completed measures of authoritative parenting and dispositional empathy. Older participants recalled more empathic and nonempathic experiences overall and expressed more meaning making and prosocial engagement in their stories. Higher dispositional empathy predicted a stronger sense of self as empathic and greater prosocial engagement. Perceptions of mothers but not fathers as authoritative predicted more prosocial engagement and a stronger sense of self as empathic. These findings are discussed in relation to the development of the life story and narrative identity (McAdams, 2001), and suggest that this model can be extended in novel ways to the domain of personal empathy.

Predictors of adolescent successful development after an exchange: The importance of activity qualities and youth input

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors involved in predicting successful development after an intensive exchange experience in adolescence. Specifically, we considered the eight positive features, as conceptualized by Eccles and Gootman (2002), as well as the amount of input youth had into their exchange experience as predictors of successful development after the exchange. In this short-term longitudinal study, 242 young, middle, and older adolescents, who participated in a national short-term exchanges program, completed surveys before and after completion of the program. Overall, we found that both the eight positive features and personal input were significantly related to overall successful development after an exchange, controlling for initial reports of successful development. This research contributes to an understanding of the importance of different qualities of activity experiences in overall youth development.

What He Said to Me Stuck: Adolescents’ Narratives of Grandparents and Their Identity Development in Emerging Adulthood

Jim (age 21): “My Mom’s father – my grandfather. A very independent guy, but a very caring guy. They (grandparents) go down to Florida every winter. And our family often goes down to spend some time with them. My grandpa really loves swimming in the ocean. So he would go out floating on his back for hours at a time…When I was younger, I used to stand on the shore and watch him float out. He would disappear and come back and ask me if I wanted to go out. I did once and people were worried because I was only ten. My parents and my grandma were concerned, ‘Oh, he’s too small,’ even though I was with my grandpa. But what he said to me stuck. What he said was I need to know my own limits, my abilities. Other people are going to have their opinions and worries and concerns, but being independent is taking that stuff into consideration, but then also doing what you can.”

Motivations for Activity Participation as Predictors of Emerging Adults' Psychological Engagement in Leisure Activities

ABSTRACT Psychological engagement has been identified as a critical factor in the potential benefits of emerging adults. leisure activity participation. Emerging adults. motivations for participation might be particularly important in predicting psychological engagement. In the present work, we report findings from a study of motivations for leisure participation and its associations with psychological engagement. In a sample of 183 undergraduate university students, we found that three of the five hypothesized motivators positively and significantly predicted greater psychological engagement. Specifically, greater psychological engagement was related to leisure participation motivated by a desire to learn and exercise skills and abilities, protect the self (for example, to alleviate guilt by helping others), and because of opportunities presented by others. favorable attitudes towards involvement.