Intimacy and identity status in young adults

Intimacy status in 48 men and 44 women (aged 21-35 yrs) was investigated in relation to ego-identity status in occupation, religion, politics, and sex role. All Ss were college educated, and most were employed in professional or skilled occupations. An intimacy status measure developed by J. L. Orlo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 1982-11, Vol.43 (5), p.1041-1051
Main Authors: Tesch, Stephanie A, Whitbourne, Susan K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ego
Human
Human Sex Differences
Intimacy
Personality Theory
Sex Roles
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Intimacy status in 48 men and 44 women (aged 21-35 yrs) was investigated in relation to ego-identity status in occupation, religion, politics, and sex role. All Ss were college educated, and most were employed in professional or skilled occupations. An intimacy status measure developed by J. L. Orlofsky et al (1973) was modified for use with adults and expanded by the addition of the merger status, describing relationships in which one partner dominated the other. There were no significant sex differences in intimacy or identity status; and as predicted by E. H. Erikson's (1963) theory, intimacy status was generally related to identity status. This relationship was not observed for occupational identity in either sex. It is suggested that Erikson's theory regarding the pattern of identity and intimacy resolutions may be extended from men to women, at least for the type of sample studied in the present investigation. (25 ref)
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.43.5.1041