EGO IDENTITY STATUS AND IDENTITY PROCESSING ORIENTATION - THE MODERATING ROLE OF COMMITMENT

This study was designed to investigate differences in the ways in which late adolescents with different identity statues process self-relevant information and negotiate identity issues. Late adolescents with a foreclosed identity status were found to rely on a normative approach to personal problem solving and decision making, whereas identity diffusions were most apt to avoid dealing with identity issues and conflicts. Individuals in self-exploratory identity statuses were most likely to employ an informational orientation. However, as hypothesized, Status x Processing Orientation relationships were moderated by the strength of identity commitments. Results are discussed in terms of a process view of identity development. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.