Psycho-Social Predictors of Identity Formation in Adolescence

The study was conducted on 600 Indian adolescents with an aim to understand the various psychosocial variables which predict high or low identity achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion in adolescents. Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status-2 (Bennion & Adams, 1986); Emotional Autonomy Scale (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986); Family Environment Scale-Form R (Moos & Moos, 1986); California Psychological Inventory (Gough, 1975); Terrance Test of Creative Thinking (Torrance, 1966); and Standard Progressive Matrices (Raven, 1983), were used. Discriminant analyses revealed that variables predicting higher identity achievement, higher moratorium, lower diffusion, and lower foreclosure scores were emotional autonomy, family environment characterized by cohesion, positive interpersonal relationships. encouragement for personal growth and organisation, personality patterns portraying interpersonal/intrapersonal maturity, character, achievement potential and superior intellect modes, and cognitive patterns. However, lower identity achievement, lower moratorium, and higher diffusion scores are predicted by conflict in the family and fluency of ideas on creativity tasks.