The aim of the present study was to gain new insights into the dark and bright sides of identity formation with a sample of 1851 Japanese adolescents and emerging adults, applying a three-dimensional model of identity formation (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment). By means of cluster analysis, we identified five statuses that strongly resembled statues extracted in prior research with Western youth: achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, diffusion, and searching moratorium. We found that each status reported a distinct profile in terms of personality and psychosocial problems. Importantly, we found that the searching moratorium status was adaptive in adolescence but not in emerging adulthood. These results suggest that the five statuses are replicable in Japanese adolescents and emerging adults, and that the searching moratorium status presents a combination of the bright and dark sides whose prevalence varies with age. Clinical implications for identity research and intervention programs are discussed.

In the present study, we examined changes in identity dynamics during adolescence using the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS), focusing on social and cultural factors possibly affecting identity formation. Identity formation among adolescents outside Western countries is largely unexplored; therefore, we focused on adolescents in Japan. We conducted a longitudinal study with 4 annual measurement points examining 968 Japanese adolescents (49.7% females). Two cohorts of participants were 13 and 16 years old at Time 1 and were followed until 16 and 19 years old, respectively. Latent class growth analysis extracted 3 identity trajectories corresponding to those found in previous research (i.e., achievement, troubled diffusion, and carefree diffusion) and 2 transitional trajectories newly identified in the present study (i.e., troubled diffusion-to-moratorium and moratorium-to-achievement). Adolescents following the achievement trajectory showed the best subjective well-being, whereas troubled diffused adolescents showed the worst. Furthermore, early-to-middle adolescents and urban adolescents tended to follow a low-commitment trajectory, whereas middle-to-late adolescents and rural adolescents tended to follow a high-commitment trajectory. These findings suggest that identity development proceeds toward integration during adolescence, but simultaneously, diverse developmental trajectories exist and incorporate contextual factors. Thus, in Japan, adolescence may be a period of identity formation for some adolescents, but not for others. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Emotional separation and parental trust in parent-adolescent relationships are important factors for adolescent identity formation. However, prior research findings on emotional separation are inconsistent. This study aimed to conduct a more rigorous examination of the associations of emotional separation and parental trust with identity synthesis, confusion, and consolidation by applying a bi-factor model to identity, using adolescent samples from Lithuania (N = 610; 53.9% female; M = 14.92), Italy (N = 411; 57.4% female; M = 15.03), and Japan (N = 759; 43.7% female; M = 14.13). Structural equation modeling revealed that emotional separation and parental trust were consistently associated with identity consolidation across the three countries, rather than associated with identity synthesis and identity confusion. Furthermore, the patterns of associations of emotional separation and parental trust with identity synthesis and identity confusion differed across the three nations. Overall, this study provides a better understanding of the role of emotional separation and parental trust in adolescent identity formation by suggesting the importance of the identity consolidation in the association between parent-child relationships and identity formation across three countries.

This study aimed to examine the relations between educational and interpersonal identity trajectories and psychosocial functioning based on a three‐factor identity process model. A total of 968 Japanese adolescents including 13‐ and 16‐years‐olds (49.7% female) participated in a four‐wave longitudinal study. Latent class growth analysis extracted five identity trajectories in each educational and interpersonal identity domain and revealed (a) high prevalence of low commitment identity trajectories, (b) absence of the closure trajectory, and (c) changeable identity trajectories that have not been identified in Western context (i.e., the Netherlands). Furthermore, a latent change model revealed dynamic relations between identity trajectories and psychosocial functioning. These findings provide critical insights into the diverse and dynamic pathways of identity formation during adolescence in Japan.