Date of Award:

5-1976

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Human Development and Family Studies

Department name when degree awarded

Family and Human Development

Committee Chair(s)

Gerald R. Adams

Committee

Gerald R. Adams

Committee

Jay D. Schvaneveldt

Committee

Charles Johnson

Committee

Kent Robson

Abstract

An extension of James Marcia's research was undertaken to examine the ego identity development of college and working youth. A number of comparisons were made between college and noncollege working youth, males and females ranging in ages from 18-21. A value orientation instrument (measuring instrumental and expressive attitudes) constructed for this study, Marcia's (1964) Ego-Identity Incomplete Sentence Blank (EI-ISB) and Identity Status Interview, LaVoie's (1975) Child Rearing Instrument, Schwartz's (1 971) Future Orientation and Independence from Family Authority Scalograms were used in assessing these comparisons.

The results revealed significantly more identity diffusion individuals in college and significantly more identity achievement individuals in a working situation. Males were found more in identity diffusion than foreclosure and moratorium status, while females were more likely to be in moratorium status than diffusion or foreclosure status. In part, this supported the hypothesis that females tend to be more advanced in identity achievement status than males. There were few significant differences in value orientation with the exception that males tended to be more instrumental than expressive, while females tended to be more expressive. Finally, individuals in foreclosure and identity achievement status perceived their mothers as being more reinforcing (approval and praise) than did identity diffusion or moratorium persons. Further, males perceived their mothers and fathers as giving them more independence than females perception of their mothers and fathers.

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