National and Gender Measurement Invariance of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS), a self-report measure aimed at assessing identity processes of commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment. We tested its factor structure in university students from a large array of cultural contexts, including 10 nations located in Europe (i.e., Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland), Middle East (i.e., Turkey), and Asia (i.e., China, Japan, and Taiwan). Furthermore, we tested national and gender measurement invariance. Participants were 6,118 (63.2% females) university students aged from 18 to 25 years (Mage = 20.91 years). Results indicated that the three-factor structure of the U-MICS fitted well in the total sample, in each national group, and in gender groups. Furthermore, national and gender measurement invariance were established. Thus, the U-MICS can be fruitfully applied to study identity in university students from various Western and non-Western contexts.

Knowing Who You Are for Not Feeling Lonely? A Longitudinal Study on Identity and Loneliness

“…Thirteen items assess the target processes in one ideological domain (education), and 13 items assess the target processes in one interpersonal domain (friendship). As consistently shown in prior studies (Crocetti et al, ; Dimitrova et al, ; Morsunbul, Crocetti, Cok, & Meeus, ; Zimmermann, Mahaim, Mantzouranis, Genoud, & Crocetti, ), the scale has a robust three‐factor structure (detailed results of the CFA (Confirmatory Factor Analysis ) are reported in Table ): Commitment (e.g., “My education/best friend gives me self‐confidence,” 10 items), in‐depth exploration (e.g., “I often talk with other people about my education/best friend,” 10 items), and reconsideration of commitment (e.g., “In fact, I'm looking for a different education/best friend,” 6 items).…”

Adaptation of the Utrecht‐Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U‐MICS) to the measurement of the parental identity domain

“…It was hypothesized that commitment in the parental domain would positively correlate with in‐depth exploration and negatively or have no correlate with reconsideration of commitment (Crocetti et al ., ; Crocetti et al ., ). As regards correlation between in‐depth exploration and reconsideration of commitment, previous results are mixed with studies reporting positive (Crocetti et al ., ), negative (Crocetti et al ., ) or no correlation (Crocetti et al ., ) between these processes. However, it might be expected that parents who are unsatisfied with fulfilling their parental role would not be very interested in gaining information about their children and talking with others about them.…”

“…In order to analyze factorial validity of the measure, one-, two-, and three-factor solutions were compared (Crocetti et al, 2010) by means of confirmatory factor analysis performed with AMOS 24 software. In order to assess models fit, two commonly used indices were applied (Hu & Bentler, 1999): (1) comparative fit index (CFI), whose value should be higher than 0.90, and ideallyhigher than 0.95; and (2) root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), whose value should not exceed 0.08.…”

“…As identity formation is currently seen as a life-long developmental task, studies in this area encompass processes of identity formation both in adolescence and in adulthood (Fadjukoff, Pulkkinen & Kokko, 2005;Kroger, 2007). Researchers interested in identity formation in domains that are central to adults usually conduct studies on occupational identity (Skorikov & Vondracek, 2011) and relational identity in the context of the relationship with a partner (Crocetti, Schwartz, Fermani & Meeus, 2010). The results of such studies suggests that identity commitments made in these different domains are positively, but not strongly related to each other (Crocetti, Sica, Schwartz, Serafini & Meeus, 2013;Goede, Spruijt, Iedema & Meeus, 1999;Schwartz et al, 2015).…”

Identity Formation in Adolescence: The Dynamic of Forming and Consolidating Identity Commitments

“…Fourth, the models differ on the operationalization of identity processes. In this regard, the identity processes in the three‐factor model can be measured by the Utrecht‐Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U‐MICS; ), which measures commitment, in‐depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment in multiple identity domains relevant for individuals’ present experiences. These domains can be grouped into two classes: ideological domains (e.g., educational identity, vocational identity, religious identity) and interpersonal domains (e.g., friendship, romantic partnership).…”