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. 2011 Nov;47(6):1646-57.
doi: 10.1037/a0023833. Epub 2011 Jun 13.

Young adult identities and their pathways: a developmental and life course model

Janel E Benson  1 , Glen H Elder Jr
Affiliations

Young adult identities and their pathways: a developmental and life course model

Janel E Benson et al. Dev Psychol. 2011 Nov.

Abstract

Developmental and life course studies of young adult identities have focused on 2 dimensions: subjective age and psychosocial maturity. This study examines the developmental synchrony of these 2 processes. In a longitudinal sample of young adults from Add Health (ages 18-22), a person-centered analysis of indicators of these dimensions identified 4 identity profiles. Two depict early and late patterns of identity; the others represent contrasting types of discordance: pseudo-adult, with subjective age more advanced than maturation level, and anticipatory, with subjective age less advanced than maturational level. The profiles vary by gender, socioeconomic status, and race-ethnicity, as well as by adolescent (ages 12-16) pubertal maturation, psychosocial adjustment, and family context. These results provide support for a more holistic, interdisciplinary understanding of adult identity and show that young adult identities in the Add Health sample follow differentiated paths into the adult years, with largely unknown consequences for the subsequent life course.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual Model of Social Status and Adolescent Influences on Adult Identity Formation
Figure 2
Figure 2
Four young adult identify profiles
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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