Personal growth initiative and identity formation in adolescence through young adulthood: Mediating processes on the pathway to well-being

Abstract Developing a personal identity is a challenging task throughout adolescence and the transition to adulthood. The present study sampling 551 14–35 year olds (54.1% female) examined personal growth initiative (PGI) as a potential predictor of core identity processes and explored whether ident...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of adolescence (London, England.) Vol. 37; no. 7; pp. 973 - 981
Main Authors Luyckx, Koen, Robitschek, Christine
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2014
Elsevier
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Subjects
Adolescent
Adolescent Development
Adult
Age Factors
Biological and medical sciences
Child development
Commitment
Commitments
Depression - epidemiology
Depression - psychology
Developmental psychology
Exploration
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human Development
Humans
Identity
Male
Mediation
Pediatrics
Personal growth initiative
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Self Concept
Self esteem
Sex Factors
Young Adult
Exploration
Personal growth initiative
Commitment
Identity
Mediation
Human
Self actualization
Well being
Personal identity
Personality
Personality development
Adolescent
Young adult
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Summary:Abstract Developing a personal identity is a challenging task throughout adolescence and the transition to adulthood. The present study sampling 551 14–35 year olds (54.1% female) examined personal growth initiative (PGI) as a potential predictor of core identity processes and explored whether identity functioned as a mediator on the pathway from PGI to self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Path analyses from a structural equation modeling approach indicated that all four components of PGI (i.e., planfulness, readiness for change, intentional behavior, and using resources) predicted different commitment and exploration processes, with planfulness being the most consistent predictor. Important age differences linking PGI-components to identity exploration were found. Finally, especially the degree to which individuals identified themselves with their identity commitments and the degree to which they relied on ruminative or maladaptive forms of identity exploration mediated pathways from PGI to self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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ISSN:0140-1971
1095-9254
DOI:10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.07.009