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10 - Erikson, the Identity Statuses, and Beyond

from Part II - New Perspectives and Challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2021

By
Jane Kroger  and
James E. Marcia
Edited by
Michael Bamberg ,
Carolin Demuth  and
Meike Watzlawik
Michael Bamberg
Affiliation:
Clark University, Massachusetts
Carolin Demuth
Affiliation:
Aalborg University, Denmark
Meike Watzlawik
Affiliation:
Sigmund Freud University, Berlin
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Summary

This chapter addresses Erik Homburger Erikson’s original concept of identity and describes how that concept evolved through the course of his writings. A number of attempts have been made to operationalize Erikson’s concept of identity for research purposes, and this chapter turns to one of the most popular of these efforts, the work of James Marcia. The empirical and clinical origins of Marcia’s identity status approach is described, and the rationale for and development of Marcia’s identity status measure (individual interviews scored with a comprehensive, theoretically consistent manual) is overviewed. The construct validation of the statuses and, thus, of selected elements of Erikson’s theoretical concept of identity are detailed. A review of key empirical relationships between identity status and selected personality variables, antecedent and consequent conditions, as well as developmental patterns of identity change over time is presented. The chapter then addresses more recent identity approaches that also assess exploration and commitment processes, along with their strengths and limitations. The clinical implications of Marcia’s identity statuses are discussed, and the chapter concludes with thoughts on the past, present, and future of identity studies.

Keywords

Eriksonidentityidentity statusesclinical implications
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Identity , pp. 215 - 238
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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