This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Identity development is not limited to adolescence, a recent study from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, shows. Researchers found that identity developed positively from age 27 to 61.
A more positively developed identity was associated with higher levels of mental well-being. Researchers using data from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development examined how identity and mental well-being develop on average in adulthood and how they are related. Identity was assessed when the same individuals were ages 27, 36, 42, 50 and 61, and mental well-being was assessed when they were ages 36, 42, 50 and 61.
The research is published in the Journal of Adult Development. Identity refers to individuals' views of who they are and what things they consider important in different areas of life. It provides individuals with a sense of continuity over time.
In this study, identity development was assessed by examining how firmly individuals were committed to their views and whether those views had been formed through personal exploration or adopted from significant others or society more broadly. A well-developed identity is characterized by clear views that individuals have committed to through personal exploration. Identity development has often been associated only with adolescence, partly because relatively few studies have followed identity development across adulthood.
"Our study showed that identity can continue to develop throughout adulthood," says doctoral researcher Liinu Marin from the University of Jyväskylä. "The results indicated positive identity development between ages 27 and 61, with the most changes occurring between ages 27 and 42." The researchers also examined how identity was associated with mental well-being. Mental well-being was assessed in terms of psychological and social well-being, life satisfaction and feelings of anxiety and depression.
Psychological well-being includes aspects such as autonomy and a sense of purpose in life, while social well-being reflects, for example, a person's feelings of connectedness to their communities and society. "The study showed that a more positively developed identity was associated with better mental well-being," Marin says. "This was evident, for example, in better psychological and social well-being and fewer feelings of anxiety." However, the study did not examine the causal direction of these associations.
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