Identity development research: a systematic review of reviews
Maehler D.B. Hernández-Torrano D.
2025Taylor and Francis Ltd.
Self and Identity
2025#24Issue 8907 - 942 pp.
Identity development research is rooted in the seminal works of Erik Erikson and James Marcia. Marcia’s identity status paradigm, which is characterized by two key dimensions–exploration and commitment–has shaped the field for over 60 years. It has laid the groundwork for subsequent approaches, which can be categorized into three main groups: process-oriented, dual-cycle, and ethnic/cultural identity models. Focusing on these approaches, the present review offers an extensive overview of a vast corpus of quantitative studies (N = 909) on identity development, explicitly operationalized using the dimensions exploration and commitment. Tracing the historical trajectory of identity development research published between 1966 and 2022, it provides insights into the methodologies, content, and structural landscape of the field. Further, it examines the relationship between identity development and psychosocial functioning, as portrayed in the literature. The findings reveal methodological gaps, thematic focuses, and existing evidence for the relationship between identity development and psychosocial functioning.
commitment , exploration , Identity development , identity status paradigm , systematic review
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Department of Survey Design and Methodology, GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany
Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Department of Survey Design and Methodology
Graduate School of Education
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026