Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1991 Dec;69(3 Pt 2):1203-12.
doi: 10.2466/pr0.1991.69.3f.1203.

Ego identity status and family environment: a correlational study

Affiliations

Ego identity status and family environment: a correlational study

E W Willemsen et al. Psychol Rep. 1991 Dec.

Abstract

The study reported here investigated the relationship between individuals' perceptions of their families' functioning and of their own emerging identity. Individuation from the parents is closely intertwined with identity formation; families supportive of young people's separation and individuation more often have identity-achieved young people. 83 college students responded to an assessment of their perceptions of their families in 10 areas related to goals, separateness of family members, and over-all functioning. They also responded to the Extended Version of the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status of Bennion and Adams. Correlations among family dimensions and the identity status scales indicate family factors were related to identity status in the following ways: Little conflict predicted the foreclosure identity status for both sexes. Identity achievement is related to aspects of family functioning differently for the two sexes. Indeed, gender-related aspects of family functioning best predict identity status. Valuing independence and achievements predicts men's identity achievement and emotional expression predicts women's identity achievement. Lack of family integration is related to the diffusion status in both sexes.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources