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

Abstract

The present studies examined the psychometric properties of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) adapted to the measurement of identity formation in the parental identity domain. As the parental identity domain has only been studied within the neo-Eriksonian approach to a very limited extent, the aim of these studies was to prepare a short, valid and reliable tool for the measurement of parental identity in order to fill this gap. The associations of commitment, in-depth exploration and reconsideration of commitment in the parental domain with well-being and with other identity constructs were analyzed. The results showed that parental identity formation is associated with mothers’ satisfaction with life and trait anxiety and with identity formation in other areas as well. The initial results suggest that the adapted version of the U-MICS is a valid and reliable measure that can be used in future studies on parental identity formation.