Sex role expectations and ego level in relation to problem marriages.

Compared 52 couples in problem marriages and 55 in nonproblem marriages with respect to degree of agreement between spouses in sex-role expectations, sex-linked self-concepts, and ego development, as measured by, respectively, a new sex-role survey (SRS), the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), and the Sentence Completion Test (SCT). With regard to differences between spouses, those on the SRS were associated with problem marriage, whereas those on the PAQ and SCT were not. Age differences of spouses were greater in problem marriages. Relations among measured variables were also examined. Among women, an androgynous self-concept was unrelated to androgynous role expectations; among men, there was a small positive correlation. Ego level was positively related to androgynous role expectations but not to androgynous self-concept. Homogamous mating was shown for ego level and sex role expectations but not for personal attributes. An unexpected finding was that mean ego level scores for husbands and wives were identical. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role typing and ego identity in Israeli, Oriental, and Western adolescents.

1,129 Oriental and Western Israeli students from religious and secular high schools participated in a study to investigate (a) the relation between sex-role typing and ego identity, (b) the distribution of sex-role typing within different cultural groups, and (c) the relative contribution of masculinity (M), femininity (F), religiousness, sex, and ethnic origin to prediction of ego identity variables. Ss completed the Bar-Ilan Sex Role Inventory and the Adolescent Ego Identity Scale, which measures 3 factors: commitment and purposefulness, solidity and continuity, and social recognition. More androgynous, less sex-typed, and less undifferentiated Ss were found among Orientals than among Westerners. Sex-role type was significantly related to each of the ego identity variables, indicating that androgynous Ss were highest followed by masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated Ss. Boys were higher than girls on Solidity and Continuity, but lower on Social Recognition. Westerners were higher than Orientals on Commitment and Purposefulness and on Total Ego Identity. Religious Ss were higher than secular Ss on Commitment and Purposefulness. Regression analyses revealed high prediction of ego identity variables with greater prediction power for M than for F in both ethnic groups. Ego identity was predicted by M among boys, whereas both M and F predicted ego identity with greater prediction power for M than for F. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of expressive writing in ego identity formation.

Conducted 2 studies with 114 college students to assess the relationship between expressive writing and ego identity development. In both studies, poetry writers were more likely than students not writing poetry to be in the identity achievement status. Poetry writers were less frequently found in the foreclosure status (Study 1) and identity diffusion status (Study 2). No differences in identity development were found between students keeping personal journals and those who had not kept journals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intimacy and identity status in young adults.

Intimacy status in 48 men and 44 women (aged 21–35 yrs) was investigated in relation to ego-identity status in occupation, religion, politics, and sex role. All Ss were college educated, and most were employed in professional or skilled occupations. An intimacy status measure developed by J. L. Orlofsky et al (1973) was modified for use with adults and expanded by the addition of the merger status, describing relationships in which one partner dominated the other. There were no significant sex differences in intimacy or identity status; and as predicted by E. H. Erikson's (1963) theory, intimacy status was generally related to identity status. This relationship was not observed for occupational identity in either sex. It is suggested that Erikson's theory regarding the pattern of identity and intimacy resolutions may be extended from men to women, at least for the type of sample studied in the present investigation. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between career indecision subtypes and ego identity development.

Four cluster groups of career-undecided college students (N?=?423) were formed from Career Factors Inventory scores. Career decision groups were compared across Erikson's first 5 stages of ego identity development as measured by the Ego Development Scale (R. Ochse & C. Plug, 1986). It was predicted that career decision groups would differ in level of ego identity resolution, with groups that experienced the most indecision reporting the least successful resolution. Using profile analysis, overall profile parallelism, level, and shape were examined, and comparisons of career decision groups within the substages were made. Results indicated that the 4 career decision groups differed in their degree of successful identity resolution in the predicted direction. Results are related to career interventions and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role identity in female alcoholism.

Compared 28 alcoholic women with 28 matched controls on a variety of masculinity-femininity measures (e.g., Franck Drawing Completion Test). The alcoholics were expected to earn more masculine scores than the controls on measures which tap relatively unconscious levels of sex role identity. On 2 measures of conscious femininity, the alcoholics were typically feminine. On the 3rd, a measure of attitudes toward motherhood, the alcoholics were more feminine than the controls. On a questionnaire measure of sex role style, the alcoholics gave more assertive, masculine responses than the controls, and the scores for alcoholics on a projective measure of unconscious masculinity-femininity were more masculine than those for the controls. The medical histories of the alcoholics contained a higher incidence of obstetrical and gynecological disorders than did the histories of the controls. The relationship between sex role identity disturbance and the psychological function of alcoholic women's excessive drinking is discussed. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role identity and its relationships to sex role attributes and sex role stereotypes.

Examines J. Kagan's (1964) and L. A. Kohlberg's (1966) theories of sex role identity. Both premise relationships among an individual's sex role identity, perception of sex role stereotypes, and own masculine and feminine sex role attributes, but the theories specify different patterns of correlations among these variables. Kagan's theory views sex role identity as the product of the mutual influence of stereotypes and attributes, whereas Kohlberg's posits sex role attributes as the product of the stereotypes and identity. 104 male and 110 female college students were administered measures of each variable including the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), modified versions of PAQ to measure stereotypes of men and women, and a measure of sex role identity developed by the present author. Results indicate an overall relationship between sex role identity and the other 2 variables. Results generally support Kohlberg's theory over Kagan's. Significant correlations were found where Kohlberg's theory would predict a relationship—between sex role stereotypes and sex role attributes. Nonsignificant correlations were found where Kagan's theory would predict a relationship—between sex role stereotypes and sex role identity. Results are compared to findings by J. T. Spence et al (1975), and questions are raised about the psychological constructs underlying measures of sex role attributes. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role identity and sex-stereotyped tasks in the development of learned helplessness in women.

80 undergraduate females participated in a study investigating the relation of sex-role identity and sex-stereotyped tasks to the development of learned helplessness in women. Half of the Ss from 4 sex-role identity groups received bogus feedback and were forced to fail on a concept formation task described to them as either a male- or female-stereotyped task; the other 40 Ss succeeded on the task. Failure on the concept formation task produced by dysphoric mood (as measured by the Depression Adjective Check Lists) in the Ss, regardless of their sex-role identity and regardless of how the concept formation task was described. However, cognitive/motivational symptoms of helplessness were found only among low-masculine Ss who failed on a male-stereotyped task. Results are compared with previous findings and suggest that feminine-sex-typed women may be particularly susceptible to some helplessness symptoms in contexts defined as male appropriate. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preschool antecedents of defense mechanism use in young adults: A longitudinal study.

Preschool antecedents of the use of defense mechanisms were longitudinally studied using data from 90 nursery school children who were again evaluated at age 23. Defense use was determined by coding Thematic Apperception Test (H.A. Murray, 1943) stories with a method previously shown to be reliable and valid. The findings indicated continuity between preschool personality and subsequent defense use for male participants but little continuity for female participants. Young men's use of the age-inappropriate defense of denial was predicted by indications at ages 3-4 of low ego resiliency and psychological difficulties in the areas of emotion, intellect, impulse control, and social interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting the direction of selective recall: Its relation to ego strength and N achievement.

2 experiments are conducted to explore the relationship between strong ego and weak ego Ss and the recall of uninterrupted vs. completed tasks. The results confirm an earlier finding that strong ego Ss recall significantly more completed tasks as the experiment conditions become more threatening to self-esteem; "weak ego subjects, interrupted tasks." 29 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between ego identity and temporal perspective.

In an attempt to expand the ego identity concept of J. E. Marcia (1975) to include the area of temporal perspective, 80 male undergraduates were administered a time line developed by the present 1st author. Temporal density (percentage of experiences in each of 5 time zones), temporal extension (chronological time spans for the past, future, and overall), and perceived duration (line length for each of 5 time zones) were measured, and an identity status interview was rated with a 4-status classification system (diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and identity achievement). Findings show significant differences between identity groups with regard to the proportional allocation both of experiences (i.e., density) and of linear space (i.e., perceived duration) among the time zones. The achievement and foreclosure groups generally scored higher on measures of futurity than did the diffusion and moratorium groups. Results point toward the crucial importance of the contextual framework in interpreting findings regarding temporal perspective. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological environments of university departments: Effects on college students' identity status and ego stage development.

Based on the dialectic notion that environments that enhance analytic thought and mind expansion create the condition necessary for positive change, it was hypothesized that academic departments that emphasize scholarship, intellectual awareness, and critical thought would facilitate identity and ego stage development. 294 university students completed the Loevinger Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development, Marcia Ego-Identity Incomplete Sentence Interview, and measures of perceived psychological environments. A 2-wave data panel allowed assessment of concurrent and distal predictors of personality. Results support the notion that identity status but not ego stage functioning is influenced by psychological environmental presses in a university setting. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mostly straight young women: Variations in sexual behavior and identity development.

Researchers have begun to explore and identify various gradations in sexual orientation identity, paying attention to alternative sexual identity categories and attempting to clarify potential subtypes of same-sex sexuality, particularly among women. This study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the behavioral experiences and identity development processes among women of a particular sexual identity subtype, mostly straight. Participants were 349 female college students whose primary sexual identities included exclusively straight, mostly straight, bisexual, and lesbian. Results indicated that, on most behavioral variables, mostly straight women fell directly between and were significantly different from exclusively straight and bisexual/lesbian women. Mostly straight women were also distinct from exclusively straight women but were similar to bisexual women and lesbians on several quantitative measures of identity. Narratives about sexual identity development for mostly straight women revealed the complexities of sexual identity exploration, uncertainty, and commitment within this population. As a whole, this study encourages researchers to begin to recognize and examine mostly straight as a distinct sexual identity subtype in young women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective recall in schizophrenia and its relation to ego strength.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the nature of selective recall in schizophrenic patients. "Two hypotheses concerning certain aspects of the schizophrenic symptomatology were tested. (a) Schizophrenics manifest a distinctive type of memory process which results in the selective recall of experiences connoting personal failure and diminished self-esteem and (b) this process is related to deficient ego strength… . While the first hypothesis was confirmed at a significant level of confidence, the second was not supported by the experimental data." 22 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy and ego development.

Examined the relationship between empathy and ego development to determine whether, as J. Loevinger (1976) suggested, empathy is characteristic of higher levels of ego development. 51 undergraduates (dormitory advisors) completed the Affective Sensitivity Scale (a measure of empathy) and the Loevinger Sentence Completion Test (a measure of ego development). Analysis of test scores indicated that Ss at higher levels of ego development (I-? and above) had significantly higher empathy scores than did those at lower ego levels. Findings have implications for the selection and training of individuals to serve in counseling or quasi-counseling roles. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between ego identity statuses and decision-making styles.

We examined the proposition that individual variations in career decision making are related conceptually to the identity formation process of late adolescence. To investigate this proposition 2 studies were conducted to identify the relations between ego identity statuses and decision-making styles. The findings suggested that persons who have achieved a stable identity tend to use rational and systematic decision-making strategies. Those whose identity status is foreclosed tend to rely on dependent strategies and do not endorse systematic and internal strategies. Persons in the diffusion status tend to rely on intuitive and dependent styles or exhibit an absence of systematic and internal styles. The moratorium status was not consistently associated with variations in decision-making styles. We relate the results to previous theory and to implications for practice and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-concept and parental identification of young adults with mixed Caucasian-Japanese parentage.

It was hypothesized, on the basis of a pilot study, that children of mixed parentage compared to those of homogeneous parentage, have smaller self-ideal discrepancy scores; that they have overall smaller discrepancy scores; and that self-ideal discrepancy scores are correlated with discrepancies between the ideal-self and parent of the same sex. Ratings of self, ideal, father, and mother were obtained from 8 males and 7 females with Caucasion father and nisei mother, and from matched control groups with homogeneous Caucasian and homogeneous Japanese parentage. All 3 hypotheses were supported for males but not for females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role identity and the decision to regain control among women: A learned helplessness investigation.

280 female undergraduates from 4 sex-role identity groups underwent either an initial loss of control (helpless) or control (nonhelpless) experience. Ss were then allowed to choose their role in a team problem-solving task. They could either (a) have total control over the team's decisions, (b) have no control over the team's decisions, or (c) not participate in the task. Compared to Ss low on masculinity, Ss high on masculinity chose to be in control of team problem solving in both the helpless and nonhelpless conditions. None of the 14 feminine-sex-typed Ss chose to control the team's decisions in the helpless condition, whereas 10 of the 14 masculine-sex-typed Ss made this choice. Results are discussed relative to the high rates of depression among women. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The transition to young adulthood: generational boundary dissolution and female identity development

This research explored links between differential qualities of family connectedness and young adult females' development of an independent identity. Identity development involves exploration of possible roles and choices in particular domains such as occupation, dating, and friendship, followed by commitment to a set of values and behaviors in one of these areas. In this study, women who reported that their parents encouraged autonomy while still maintaining closeness also reported more exploration in their friendship and dating relationships. In contrast, reports of parent-child boundary dissolution, characterized by role-reversal, enmeshment, and overinvolvement, were related to less exploration, particularly in dating relationships. Mother-daughter boundary dissolution, specifically, was linked to women's tendency to base their commitments to a career and relationships with others on parental values and expectations without ever exploring alternative choices. Father-daughter boundary dissolution was related to lower exploration as well as lower commitment to values and beliefs in any area. These findings lend support to theoretical and clinical impressions that intergenerational boundary violations hinder the development of an independent identity.     

Cross-sectional age changes in ego identity status during adolescence.

Cross-sectional age changes in ego identity status during adolescence were investigated in 25 males in each of 5 age groups (12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 yrs). Each S was administered the Marcia Identity Status Interview, extended to include questions about avocation and, for the older Ss, attitudes toward premarital sex. Significant increases were found in occupational commitment and crisis, religious crisis, political commitment and crisis, and sexual crisis. On overall identity status, there were large increases with age in the number of Ss in the achievement status and decreases in the number of Ss in the foreclosure and diffusion statuses. Contrary to expectation, sexual attitudes appeared to be related to identity formation for this sample. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)