Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 5, No.

4, 1976

A Longitudinal Study of Ego Identity

Development at a Liberal Arts College
Alan S. Waterman I and Jeffrey A. Goldman 2
Received July 19, 1976

Ego identity development in the areas o f occupational choice, religion, and

political ideology was studied using Marcia's categorization system. The results
indicated a significant increase in the frequency o f the identity achiever status
for occupational choice and corresponding decreases in the frequency o f the
moratorium and identity diffusion statuses. A significant decrease in the frequency
o f foreclosures on religion was also found. In those instances where students
underwent an identity crisis, the probability of resolving it successfully was very
high. High scores on the Cultural Sophistication scale o f the College Student
Questionnaire-Part i were found to be associated with presence in the identity
achievement status. For students not in the achiever status as freshmen, an in-
terest in various literary and art forms was predictive o f becoming an achiever
while in college.

INTRODUCTION

Erikson (1959, 1968) conceptualized psychological growth in terms of the

development of a series of ego components determined by the manner of resolu-
tion of successive psychosocial crises. The resolution of each stage-specific crisis
involves the establishing of a relatively stable position along the bipolar c o n t i n u u m
used to define the relevant ego component. For adolescents and youths, the

1Department of Psychology, Trenton State College, Trenton, New Jersey. Received his Ph.D.
from SUNY/Buffalo. Recent research has been mainly concerned with the development of
ego identity and with techniques for resolving identity crises.
2Department of Psychology, Hartwick CoUege, Oneonta, New York. Received his Ph.D.
from Syracuse University. Recent research has been mainly concerned with personality
moderators of human judgment.
361
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362 Waterman and Goldman

stage-specific crisis involves developing a stable sense of ego identity and the
relevant bipolar continuum is termed "identity vs. identity diffusion."
The college years are generally viewed as a time of major change in ego
identity. There is an extensive research literature describing the changes charac-
teristically occurring during the undergraduate years in the content of identity
elements in such areas as occupational choice, religious beliefs, and political
ideology (see Feldman and Newcomb, 1969). From the perspective of Erikson's
theory, there is concern not only for the content of particular identity elements
but also for the processes by which such elements are formed.
The processes involved in the development of ego identity are the basis of
a four-category hierarchical classification system for identity devised by Marcia
(1966). The four ego identity statuses are defined in terms of two dimensions:
crisis and commitment. "Crisis" refers to a period of active questioning during
which potential identity elements are critically evaluated. There may be extensive
testing out of a variety of alternative possibilities. "Commitment" involves
making a firm, unwavering investment in specific identity elements and engaging
in significant activity directed toward the implementation of one's chosen identity.
A person in the identity achiever status has gone through a period of
crisis and has developed relatively firm commitments. The moratorium status is
one in which the individual is undergoing an identity crisis and is striving to form
personally meaningful commitments. A person is classified as a foreclosure if
there has not been a crisis but there are, nevertheless, commitments regarding
occupational choice and/or ideological beliefs. The commitments which have
been made are generally ones which reflect the expectations of parents or other
authority figures. The identity diffusion category is one in which the individual
is not committed to anything and is not actively trying to make a commitment.
A person in this group may never have been in crisis or may have had a period of
questioning but was not able to resolve it and emerged without making a firm
choice.
Several studies, using a variety of paper-and-pencil measures, have dem.
onstrated an increasing sense of ego identity with age or year in college (Dignan,
1965; Constantinople, 1969; Joyce, 1971; Fry, 1974). Only one previous study
has reported the pattern of changes in the four ego identity statuses during the
college years (Waterman and Waterman, 1971, 1972; Waterman et al., 1974).
During the freshman year, male engineering students enrolled at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute showed an increase in occupational identity crises while
there was an increase in the frequency of identity diffusions regarding ideological
identity (a combination of religious and political beliefs). From the end of the
freshman year to the end of the senior year there was an increase in the frequency
of identity achievers for both occupational and ideological identity.
In view of the distinctive nature of the student sample participating in
the earlier study, it was considered important to assess whether liberal arts
students would follow a similar pattern of development. Such extensions are
Identity Development at a Liberal Arts College 363

necessary to increase the external validity of the observed phenomena (Campbell

and Stanley, 1963).
Beyond the attempt to extend the findings of the earlier research, the
present study focused on several questions not previously considered. Specifically,
the data obtained here were analyzed to identify the identity outcomes of enter-
ing college in the various ego identity statuses. It was expected that students
entering college as identity achievers in specific areas would have the greatest
probability of graduating with firm commitments while those students entering
as identity diffusions were seen as least likely to graduate with such commitments.
However, there was no clear expectation as to whether the students who started
college as foreclosures would be likely to graduate with a firm.sense of identity.
Another outcome question considered here concerned the respective probabili-
ties of (1) successfully resolving an identity crisis, i.e., becoming an identity
achiever, and (2) giving up on the task and emerging without a firm commitment,
i.e., becoming a postcrisis identity diffusion. Such estimates can serve as an indica-
tion of the extent to which the college environment aids students who are
struggling with identity concerns.
Finally, an attempt was made to identify antecedents of different patterns
of identity development during the college years. If psychological variables
predating developmental changes into the identity achiever status can be identi-
fied, this may help to explain why some individuals go through identity crises at
college while others graduate without ever having questioned the ideas they
developed within their family context.

METHOD

Participants

The students participating in this study were male freshmen enrolled at

Hartwick College, a small liberal arts college. The students were mainly from
upper-middle socioeconomic class backgrounds. There were two subsamples
of participants. In the first group, 45 students entering college for the fall
1970 semester were interviewed as freshmen. Eighteen of these students were
interviewed again as seniors. In the second group, 89 students entering college
for the fall 1971 semester participated as freshmen. Forty-one of these students
contributed data as seniors. Since the data derived from the two subsamples
were generally quite similar, the groups were combined for all of the analyses
that follow. The 59 students contributing data both as freshmen and as seniors
represent 44% of the students originally interviewed at the beginning of their
college years. Thirty-seven percent of the sample had withdrawn from the school
before the end of the senior year. The remainder either could not be contacted
or declined to participate.
364 Watermanand Goldman

Procedure

The first interview with each student was conducted during the initial 5
weeks of the fall term of the freshman year. The senior year interview was con-
ducted during the latter half of the senior year. In addition to the interviews,
the students had completed the College Student Questionnaire-Part 1 prior to
the start of their freshman year.

Measures of Ego Identity Status

Each student's ego identity status was assessed by means of a semistruc-

tured interview which took between 15 and 30 minutes to conduct. The form
of the interview was similar to that developed by Marcia and included questions
pertaining to the student's choice of an occupational field, his religious beliefs,
and his political ideology. The questions were designed to elicit information
concerning the presence or absence of a crisis in each of these areas and the
extent of the commitment to the views expressed.
All interviews were taped and scored independently by at least two judges.
For each student, separate decisions were made as to his identity status in the
three interview areas. The average rate of interjudge agreement was 72%. In those
instances where the two judges differed in their categorization for any of the
three interview areas, the tape was submitted to a third judge for scoring. Agree-
ment by two of the three judges was considered sufficient for assigning the
participant to an identity status. In any instance where this criterion was not
met, that part of the interview was termed unscorable.

Measures from the College Student Questionnaire-Part 1

The College Student Questionnaire-Part 1 contains five personality scales:

Family Independence, Peer Independence, Liberalism, Social Conscience, and
Cultural Sophistication. Each scale is composed of ten four-alternative items. A
full description of the scales, including their reliability and validity, is provided
by Peterson (1965). Since entrance scores on these scales were available, they
could be used to test for possible antecedents of the use of different develop-
mental pathways.

RESULTS

Changes in Identity Status

The number of students in each of the four ego identity statuses in the
three interview areas both as freshmen and as seniors is presented in Table I.
Identity Development at a Liberal Arts College 365

Table I. Number of Participants in Each Ego Identity Status and Number of Par-
ticipants Changing out of and into Each Status from the Freshman to the Senior Year
Freshman Senior Changed out Changed
Status year year of status into status X2
Occupational choice
Identity achiever 5 22 1 18 13.48 d
Moratorium 13 2 13 2 6.67 c
Foreclosure 16 19 6 9 <1
Identity diffusion 20 11 14 5 3.24 a

Religious beliefs
Identity achiever 13 17 6 10 <1
Moratorium 6 7 5 6 <1
Foreclosure 19 9 12 2 5.78 b
Identity diffusion 14 19 6 11 <1
Political beliefs
Identity achiever 13 14 7 8 <1
Moratorium 2 2 2 2 <1
Foreclosure 8 8 6 6 ~1
Identity diffusion 26 25 10 9 <1

ap < 0.10.
bp < 0.05.
~p<< 0.001.
0.01.

The number o f freshmen changing out o f and into each category is also given.
To assess changes in the overall frequency o f the various statuses, each
student was given a score for each o f the four identity statuses corresponding
to the number of interview areas for which the student was in a particular status.
Since there were three interview areas, the highest possible score for a given
status was 3, the lowest score was 0. Paired-measure t tests were employed to
test for changes in the frequency o f use o f each status from the freshman to the
senior year. A significant overall increase in the frequency of the identity achiever
status during the college years was observed, t(58) = 2.64, p < 0.02. None o f
the other statuses showed an overall significant change.
McNemar tests for the significance o f changes (Siegel, 1956) were used to
identify the pattern of changes within each interview area. F o r occupational
choice, there was a significant increase in the frequency of the identity achiever
status, • = 13.48, p < 0.001, and a significant decrease in the frequency o f
moratoriums, • = 6.67, p < 0.01. The decrease in the frequency of identity
diffusions approached significance, • = 3.24, p < 0.10. With regard to
religion, there was a significant decrease in the number o f foreclosures, X2(1) =
5.78, p < 0.05. No significant changes were found with respect to political
ideology.
366 Wat~man and Goldman

Table 11.Percentages of Students in Each Identity Status as Freshmen

(Initial Status) Who Subsequently Had Firm Commitments as
Seniors
Initial identity Occupational Religious Political
status choice beliefs beliefs Total a
Identity achiever 80 54 62 61
Moratorium 85 67 50 76
Foreclosure 88 63 50 70
Identity diffusion 60 21 35 40
aX2(3 ) = 13.34, p < 0.01.

Outcomes of Different Initial Statuses

The percentages of students in each of the identity statuses as freshmen

who subsequently had firm commitments in each interview area as seniors are
given in Table II. Unexpectedly, the students entering college in the moratorium
status in a given area were the most likely to have firm commitments in that area
as seniors, while, as predicted, students who were identity diffusions as freshmen
were least likely to have such commitments as they approached graduation.
Students who were initially in the foreclosure and identity achiever statuses were
generally found to be committed to their plans and beliefs as seniors, although in
many instances their ideas were substantially different from the ones with which
they entered college. The X2 analysis of the differences in the outcomes across
interview areas was highly significant, X2(3) = 13.34, p < 0.01.

Resolutions of Identity Crises

The presence of 79 identity crises in specific interview areas was inferred

from the interview scorings. This includes all changes from any status into either
the identity achiever status or the postcrisis identity diffusion category, as well
as those students in the moratorium status as seniors. In 68% o f these instances,
the students had become achievers, in 18% the students had become diffuse,
while in 14% the crisis was continuing at the end o f the senior year. Considering
only those cases where the student was no longer in crisis, there was a very strong
probability that the crisis would be successfully resolved (79% vs. 21%), X2(1)=
23.52,p < 0.001.

Antecedents of Identity Development

The major developmental change observed in this study was an increase in

the frequency o f the identity achiever status. In order to test for possible ante-
Identity Development at a Liberal Arts College 367

cedents to becoming an achiever, the sample was divided into three groups: (1)
students who were achievers in at least one area both as freshmen and as seniors,
(2) students who were not in the achiever category as freshmen but who became
achievers in at least one area by their senior year, and (3) students who were not
achievers in any area either as freshmen or as seniors. These groups were com-
pared regarding their entrance scores on the five scales of the College Student
Questionnaire-Part 1.
Analyses of variance comparing the three groups on the various scales
yielded significant differences on two of the five scales: Social Conscience and
Cultural Sophistication,/7(2,38) = 3.56, p < 0.05, and F(2,38) = 10.76, p < 0.01,
respectively. For both scales, the group that was achievers on both occasions
scored highest while the group that was not achievers on either occasion scored
lowest. The critical comparison regarding an antecedent of developmental change
is that between the group not in the achiever status at entrance but who became
achievers and the group not in the achiever status on either occasion. This com-
parison was significant only for the Cultural Sophistication variable. Students
who were to become identity achievers expressed significantly more interest in
various literary and art forms at the time of entering college than did the students
who did not subsequently become achievers, t(25) = 2.30, p < 0.05.

DISCUSSION

The results obtained here provide support for Erikson's views on ego
identity development. There was a clear, progressive developmental change, with
students moving through the moratorium status to become identity achievers. A
substantial majority of the identity crises experienced in college were successfully
resolved. The majority of college students leave college with their sense of
identity relatively well established. Over half of the seniors were committed to
their identity elements in at least two of the three areas studied (i.e., they were
either achievers or foreclosures). However, about one-quarter of the seniors were
diffuse in at least two of the three areas. It should be noted that these findings
apply only to students who stayed at the school until the end of their senior
year. The pattern of identity development among students withdrawing from
college remains a matter for conjecture.
The design of the present study was parallel in most respects to the Rens-
selaer study, permitting a comparison of the patterns of ego identity develop.
ment. 3 The pattern of changes for the liberal arts and engineering students was
generally very similar. For both samples, there was a significant overall increase

3The results of the Rensselaer study used for comparison have not previously been reported
in the form used here. Copies of the relevant tables and analyses are available from the
authors on request.
368 Waterman and Goldman

in the frequency of the identity achiever status. In addition, the Rensselaer

students showed significant decreases in the frequency of the moratorium and
foreclosure statuses. With regard to the changes within specific interview areas,
the increase in frequency of the achiever status occurred primarily for occupa-
tional identity at Hartwick while for the Rensselaer sample a significant increase
was found for both occupational choice and political ideology. The shift out of
the moratorium status on occupation was significant for the liberal arts students
and was paralleled by a trend in the same direction for the engineering students.
The reduction in the frequency of the foreclosure status among the liberal arts
students was restricted to the area of religion but was significant for both religious
and political ideology among the engineering students. Also, a significant increase
in the frequency of the identity diffusion status for religion was observed for the
Rensselaer sample.
When the two samples were compared for the outcomes of the various
initial statuses, the results were again quite similar. For both groups, students in
the identity diffusion status in a specific area at entrance were the least likely to
have definite commitments in that area at the end of the senior year. Also, the
probability of successfully resolving a crisis was comparable at both schools, 79%
for the Hartwick sample and 72% for the Rensselaer sample.
Finally, with regard to the antecedents of developmental change, at both
schools the Cultural Sophistication variable was found to discriminate between
students taking different developmental pathways. As was found for the liberal
arts students, the engineering students who were achievers in at least one area at
both the beginning and end of their college careers scored significantly higher on
this scale at entrance than did the students who were not achievers in any area
on either occasion. There was also a trend for the engineering students who be-
came identity achievers to have higher Cultural Sophistication scores at entrance
than did the students who did not become achievers.
The finding that scores on the Cultural Sophistication scale were both a
correlate of and an antecedent to presence in the identitY achiever status is of
particular interest. A concern with various literary and art forms may serve to
induce an identity crisis by exposing the individual to new ideas that call his
previously established identity elements into question. At the same time, the
content of literary and artistic productions may suggest possible resolutions
and thus help a person to work out his own thinking. Further support for a
connection between an interest in the arts and identity development is provided
by a study showing that college students who were writing poetry were signifi-
cantly more likely to be identity achievers than were students who had never
written poetry (Waterman et aL, !976).
The findings of the present study are clearly consistent with Erikson's
theory of psychosocial development during the stage of youth. The close parallels
between the results from the liberal arts students at Hartwick and the engineering
students at Rensselaer suggest considerable generality to the observed phenomena.
Identity Development at a Liberal Arts College 369

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