This multisample longitudinal study examined the directionality of effects between identity exploration and commitment processes and depressive symptoms across adolescence. We compared two... Show moreThis multisample longitudinal study examined the directionality of effects between identity exploration and commitment processes and depressive symptoms across adolescence. We compared two theoretical perspectives. According to the vulnerability model, identity uncertainty predicts depressive symptoms, whereas the scar model holds that depressive symptoms play into identity uncertainty. In investigating both models, we examined reciprocal within-person associations in Study 1 (N = 497, M-age Time 1 [T1] = 14.03 years, comprising five annual waves) and Study 2 (N = 1,022, M-age T1 = 15.80 years, comprising four annual waves). To this end, we applied the random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) in both studies. Results supported the vulnerability model across Studies 1 and 2. Specifically, within-person increasing reconsideration of commitment (Study 1) and ruminative exploration (Study 2) predicted a within-person increase in depressive symptoms 1 year later, but not vice versa. Commitment processes did not predict depressive symptoms at the within-person level. Our findings indicate that maladaptive exploration processes of identity formation play a particularly important role in the development of depressive symptoms at the within-person level. Show less
Endedijk, H.M.; Nelemans, S.A.; Schür, R.R.; Boks, M.P.; Lier, P. van; Meeus, W.; ... ; Branje, S. 2019
This multimethod multisample longitudinal study examined how neurological substrates associated with goal directedness and information seeking are related to adolescents’ identity. Self‐reported... Show moreThis multimethod multisample longitudinal study examined how neurological substrates associated with goal directedness and information seeking are related to adolescents’ identity. Self‐reported data on goal‐directedness were collected across three biannual waves in Study 1. Identity was measured one wave later. Study 1 design and measurements were repeated in Study 2 and extended with structural brain data (nucleus accumbens [NAcc] and prefrontal cortex gray matter volume [PFC]), collected across three biannual waves. Study 1 included 497 adolescents (Mage T1 = 13.03 years) and Study 2 included 131 adolescents (Mage T1 = 14.69 years). Using latent growth curve models, goal directedness, NAcc, and PFC volume predicted a stronger identity one wave later. These findings provide crucial new insights in the underlying neurobiological architecture of identity. Show less
