Seth J. Schwartz

Identity and Agency in Emerging Adulthood Two Developmental Routes in the Individualization Process

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 psychological aspects of identity formation (style, status, and process) in relation to personal agency associated with the individualization process. Structural equation modeling analyses suggest that higher levels of agency are positively related to exploration and flexible commitment, unrelated to conformity, and negatively related to avoidance. Cluster analysis was used to examine and support a theorized polarity between developmental and default forms of individualization. Replicated across three U.S. ethnic groups, the results suggest that emerging adults utilize agentic capacities to varying degrees, and that the degree of agency utilized is directly related to the coherence of the emerging adults identity.

The Evolution of Eriksonian and, Neo-Eriksonian Identity Theory and Research: A Review and Integration

The evolution of the study of identity development is traced from Freuds early writings to Eriksons extrapolations and theoretical expositions, Marcias empirical operationalization, and finally to 6 alternative theories that have been introduced since 1987 (Berzonsky, Grotevant, Waterman, Kurtines, Adams, and Côté. The issues of measurement and intervention, which have been crucial to the evolution of identity as a researchable construct, are also reviewed. The alternative theories are conceptualized as addressing aspects of Eriksons work that were not addressed by Marcias identity status model. To facilitate the broadening of identity theory to include more of Eriksons ideas, taxonomies for understanding relations among the alternative theories, and a system for integrating them, is introduced. Finally, suggestions for the development of future identity theory and research are offered.

The Role of Identity in Acculturation among Immigrant People: Theoretical Propositions, Empirical Questions, and Applied Recommendations

The present paper advances theoretical propositions regarding the relationship between acculturation and identity. The most central thesis argued is that acculturation represents changes in cultural identity and that personal identity has the potential to ‘anchor’ immigrant people during their transition to a new society. The article emphasizes the experiences of nonwhite, non-Western immigrant people moving to Western nations. The article also calls for research on heretofore unexplored aspects of the relationship of acculturation to personal and social identity. Ideas are proposed for interventions to promote cultural identity change and personal identity coherence.

Efficacy of Brief Strategic Family Therapy in Modifying Hispanic Adolescent Behavior Problems and Substance Use

This study investigated the efficacy of brief strategic family therapy (BSFT) with Hispanic behavior problem and drug using youth, an underrepresented population in the family therapy research literature. One hundred twenty-six Hispanic families with a behavior problem adolescent were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: BSFT or group treatment control (GC). Results showed that, compared to GC cases, BSFT cases showed significantly greater pre- to post-intervention improvement in parent reports of adolescent conduct problems and delinquency, adolescent reports of marijuana use, and observer ratings and self reports of family functioning. These results extend prior findings on the efficacy of family interventions to a difficult to treat Hispanic adolescent sample.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Parent-Centered Intervention in Preventing Substance Use and HIV Risk Behaviors in Hispanic Adolescents

The present study evaluated the efficacy of Familias Unidas + Parent-Preadolescent Training for HIV Prevention (PATH), a Hispanic-specific, parent-centered intervention, in preventing adolescent substance use and unsafe sexual behavior. Two hundred sixty-six 8th-grade Hispanic adolescents and their primary caregivers were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: Familias Unidas + PATH, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) + PATH, and ESOL + HeartPower! for Hispanics (HEART). Participants were assessed at baseline and at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months postbaseline. Results showed that (a) Familias Unidas + PATH was efficacious in preventing and reducing cigarette use relative to both control conditions; (b) Familias Unidas + PATH was efficacious, relative to ESOL + HEART, in reducing illicit drug use; and (c) Familias Unidas + PATH was efficacious, relative to ESOL + PATH, in reducing unsafe sexual behavior. The effects of Familias Unidas + PATH on these distal outcomes were partially mediated by improvements in family functioning. These findings suggest that strengthening the family system, rather than targeting specific health behaviors, may be most efficacious in preventing and/or reducing cigarette smoking, illicit drug use, and unsafe sex in Hispanic adolescents.

The Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being: Psychometric properties, demographic comparisons, and evidence of validity

The Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being (QEWB) was developed to measure well-being in a manner consistent with how it is conceptualized in eudaimonist philosophy. Aspects of eudaimonic well-being assessed by the QEWB include self-discovery, perceived development of ones best potentials, a sense of purpose and meaning in life, intense involvement in activities, investment of significant effort, and enjoyment of activities as personally expressive. The QEWB was administered to two large, ethnically diverse samples of college students drawn from multiple sites across the United States. A three-part evaluation of the instrument was conducted: (1) evaluating psychometric properties, (2) comparing QEWB scores across gender, age, ethnicity, family income, and family structure, and (3) assessing the convergent, discriminant, construct, and incremental validity of the QEWB. Six hypotheses relating QEWB scores to identity formation, personality traits, and positive and negative psychological functioning were evaluated. The internal consistency of the scale was high and results of independent CFAs indicated that the QEWB items patterned onto a common factor. The distribution of scores approximated a normal curve. Demographic variables were found to predict only small proportions of QEWB score variability. Support for the hypotheses tested provides evidence for the validity of the QEWB as an instrument for assessing eudaimonic well-being. Implications for theory and future research directions are discussed.

A New Identity for Identity Research: Recommendations for Expanding and Refocusing the Identity Literature

I have been following the identity literature for more than 10 years and have been an active contributor to this literature since 1998. During the years that I have followed and contributed to the identity literature, I have had the opportunity to observe and take note of the general areas and themes that have been emphasized in this literature as well as important areas that have been neglected. In this editorial essay, I comment on some of the areas in which identity research has been lacking and on ways to expand identity research by focusing on these areas. I restrict my analysis to the literature rooted in Eriksonian and neo-Eriksonian theory because that is the area with which I am most familiar. I touch on a number of important areas, including methodological shortsightedness, reliance on a narrow and limiting theoretical approach, and lack of attention to important applied and social policy issues. However, I deliberately do not touch on another potentially problematic area in identity research—measurement issues—in this essay. I believe that measurement issues are secondary to theoretical issues, more broadly based research design issues, and applicability issues—and therefore that measurement issues should be raised only after these more important issues have been addressed. The measures that are selected for use in any given study are guided by the theoretical approach and research questions on which the study is based. As the identity literature expands to cover new ground, measures will be adapted or created to address the specific identity dimensions, research objectives, and populations being examined.

Familias Unidas: The Efficacy of an Intervention to Promote Parental Investment in Hispanic Immigrant Families

This paper reports a test of the efficacy of Familias Unidas, a Hispanic-specific, ecologically focused, parent-centered preventive intervention, in promoting protection against and reducing risk for adolescent behavior problems. Specifically, the intervention was designed to foster parental investment, reduce adolescent behavior problems, and promote adolescent school bonding/academic achievement, all protective factors against drug abuse and delinquency. One-hundred sixty seven Hispanic families of 6th and 7th grade students from three South Florida public schools were stratified by grade within school and randomly assigned to intervention and no-intervention control conditions. Results indicated that Familias Unidas was efficacious in increasing parental investment and decreasing adolescent behavior problems, but that it did not significantly impact adolescent school bonding/academic achievement. Summer-vacation rates of adolescent behavior problems were six times higher in the control condition than in the intervention condition. Furthermore, change in parental investment during the intervention was predictive of subsequent levels of adolescent behavior problems. The findings suggest that Familias Unidas is efficacious in promoting protection and reducing risk for adolescent problem behaviors in poor immigrant Hispanic families.

Employment, Sense of Coherence, and Identity Formation: Contextual and Psychological Processes on the Pathway to Sense of Adulthood

The present study investigated the influence of contextual (i.e., being in college vs. being employed) and psychological (i.e., sense of coherence) processes on achieving a sense of adulthood in a sample of 317 emerging adults. Identity formation, conceptualized as multiple dimensions of exploration and of commitment, was conceived of as a mediator of these relationships. Individuals who perceive themselves as adults scored higher on commitment and lower on ruminative exploration than those who do not perceive themselves as full-fledged adults. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that the relationships of sense of coherence and attending college versus being employed to sense of adulthood were partially mediated by identity formation—and by the dimension of commitment making in particular. Being employed and scoring high on sense of coherence are directly and indirectly (through making stronger identity commitments) related to a greater sense of adulthood. Implications and suggestions for future research are outlined.

The relationships of personal and ethnic identity exploration to indices of adaptive and maladaptive psychosocial functioning

Identity exploration has often been associated with maladaptive aspects of psychosocial functioning such as anxiety and depression. It is not known, however, whether maladaptive psychosocial functioning is related to both personal and ethnic identity exploration. In the present study, we examined the relationships of personal and ethnic identity exploration to adaptive (self-esteem, purpose in life, internal locus of control, and ego strength) and maladaptive (depression, anxiety, impulsivity, and tolerance for deviance) psychosocial functioning, as well the extent to which these relationships were mediated by identity confusion. A multi-ethnic sample of 905 White, Black, and Hispanic university students completed measures of personal and ethnic identity exploration, as well as of adaptive and maladaptive psychosocial functioning. Current personal identity exploration was negatively associated with adaptive psychosocial functioning and was positively associated with anxiety, depression, and impulsivity. An opposite pattern of relationships emerged for past personal identity exploration. All these relationships were mediated by identity confusion — positively for current exploration and negatively for past exploration. Ethnic identity exploration was not directly associated with psychosocial functioning and evidenced only a weak association through identity confusion. These findings were consistent across gender and across the three ethnic groups studied. Implications for identity theory, research, and intervention are discussed.