Identity Statuses and Well-Being among University Students in Türkiye

Abstract

Emerging adulthood is a critical life stage in which identity development is a prominent task. The main purpose of this study is to find out whether the psychological and social well-being of university students vary depending on their identity statuses. 801 university students from different Turkish universities participated in the study. The Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS), Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWB) and Social Well-being Scale were used to gather data. For data analysis, one-way ANOVA and Tamhane tests were used. The data analysis revealed that psychological and social well-being of university students differ significantly based on their identity statuses. Students with diffused diffusion have the lowest scores of psychological and social well-being among all groups whereas their achieved peers score the highest. Another finding shows that achieved emerging adults manifest higher levels of psychological and social well-being compared to their foreclosed peers despite having similar levels of commitment. Based on the findings on diffusion, one can conclude that carefree diffusion is a more adaptive identity status than diffused diffusion in terms of well-being. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for experts working at university settings.