مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Identity Development of University Students: The relationships Among Identity Status, Social Capital, and Identity Capital

Abstract :

In this research university student emerging adults’ identity statuses and its relationships with their social and identity capitals were investigated. The sample of this study consisted of 985 (511 female, 474 male) students from six different Turkish Universities. Their mean age was 21.7 (range = 17.7 to 27 years). Measurements were Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, The Multimeasure Agentic Personality Scale, Self-Determination Scale, Perceptions of Parents Scale, The Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOM-EIS-2), and The Learning Climate Questionnaire. Results showed that identity status had main effect on social and identity capital dependent variables. The participants in achieved status had highest scores in social capital resources like trust belief, friends’, significant others’, and family’s social support, lecturer’s autonomy support, mothers’ warmth, involvement, and autonomy support. Besides, they had highest identity capital resources like self-esteem, and purpose in life. Foreclosed status participants were not so disadvantageous in social capital resources but they had lower scores on identity capital resources compared to their peers in achieved status. Moratorium status emerging adults were the most disadvantageous group in attaining social and identity capital resources among those three groups. Finding were discussed in terms of identity development research literature.