Authors
Background
Adolescents face the critical task of establishing a clear identity by exploring alternatives and making meaningful commitments in developmentally relevant domains, such as educational and interpersonal ones. Adolescents’ identity processes and their levels of well-being are likely to be intertwined. On the one hand, how adolescents cope with the core developmental task of forming their identity has important implications for their well-being. On the other hand, experiencing a condition of well-being can help adolescents consolidate their identity. the task of forming a stable identity might be particularly challenging for adolescents with a migrant background (individuals born or with at least one parent born outside the destination country) who have to face, in addition to the developmental task, the acculturative one of integrating their culture of origin with the host one. In this vein, this longitudinal study adopted a multidimensional and culturally sensitive perspective to unravel how identity processes (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment) in two domains (i.e., educational and interpersonal identity) were developmentally related to multiple indicators of positive well-being (i.e., physical health, subjective, psychological, and social well-being) in adolescents with different cultural backgrounds.
Method
The present study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (Italy) (Prot. n. 263836 of 14/10/2021) as part of the ERC-Consolidator project IDENTITIES “Managing identities in diverse societies: a developmental intergroup perspective with adolescents” (Grant Agreement n. 101002163). This study is part of a larger longitudinal research study involving 1st- and 3rd-year students (at the first assessment) from several high schools in the northern part of Italy (i.e., the Emilia-Romagna region), their parents, and teachers. Participants of the current study were 1,396 adolescents (Mage = 15.73, SDage = 1.23, 49.93% females; 20.89% with a migrant background) who completed questionnaires at four-time points across one year.
Results
Results of cross-lagged models confirmed the positive reciprocal associations between identity commitment and well-being in all its facets. The nuanced picture of associations of in-depth exploration and reconsideration of commitment with multiple dimensions of well-being highlighted the importance of adopting a multi-dimensional perspective on well-being and a domain-specific approach to identity. Multigroup analyses indicated that the associations between identity commitment in the educational domain and well-being are relevant, especially for adolescents with a migrant background.
Conclusion
Adopting a culturally sensitive approach, this study considered youth from the majority group and those with a migrant background, revealing that building a solid identity, namely in the educational domain, can be a protective factor, especially for this latter group. Overall, these data highlight the centrality of identity processes for adolescents’ adaptation and point to a dynamic loop of reciprocal influences at the core of positive youth development.
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