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Do Identity Processes and Psychosocial Problems Intertwine with Each Other? Testing the Directionality of Between- and Within-Person Associations.

Kai HatanoKazumi SugimuraKoen Luyckx
Published in: Journal of youth and adolescence (2019)
As forming and evaluating commitments are stressful processes, adolescents who worry about their identity may exhibit psychosocial problems. However, there is a lack of prospective research regarding the direction of associations between the processes of identity and psychosocial problems in the future domain. This study examined the direction of relationships between future-oriented identity processes and psychosocial problems based on a five-dimensional identity process model. A total of 347 Japanese 14-year-old adolescents (53.3% female) participated in a three-wave longitudinal study with a one-year-interval assessment. Standard cross-lagged models indicated that pro-active identity exploration was negatively predicted by conduct problems, and ruminative exploration was positively predicted by depressive symptoms. Within-person cross-lagged models indicated that ruminative exploration positively predicted both depressive symptoms and conduct problems at the within-person level. These findings reveal how identity processes and psychosocial problems are interwoven during adolescence.
Keyphrases
  • mental health
  • depressive symptoms
  • young adults
  • social support
  • gene expression
  • dna methylation
  • anti inflammatory