Identity development and adjustment during emerging adulthood from a gender perspective

Br J Dev Psychol. 2023;00:1–16. | 1 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/bjdp IDENTITY THEORY AND THE EVOLUTION OF IDENTITY MODELS The identity development process is a key developmental task in the transition from childhood to adulthood (Erikson, 1968). Identity development has always been considered an essential task during Received: 13 June 2023 | Accepted: 30 October 2023 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12470 ARTICLE Identity development and adjustment during emerging adulthood from a gender perspective Inmaculada Sánchez-Queija | Paula Domínguez-Alarcón | Marta Díez | Águeda Parra This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. © 2023 The Authors. British Journal of Developmental Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society. Department of Developmental Psychology and Education, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain Correspondence Paula Domínguez-Alarcón, Department of Developmental Psychology and Education, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain. Email: pda[email protected] Funding information Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Grant/Award Number: EDU2013-45687-R; Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; European Regional Development Fund, Grant/Award Number: RTI2018-097405B-I00; Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities of the Junta de Andalucía, Grant/Award Number: PROYEXCEL_00766; European Social Fund; Junta de Andalucía, Grant/Award Number: 2019-Line_2,PAIDI_2020 Abstract Identity development is a key task during emerging adulthood. The goals of the present study are to validate the Spanish version of the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS) and to explore the relationship between identity dimensions and adjustment (flourishing and distress), from a gender perspective. The sample comprised 1502 Spanish university students (60.1% women). The results reveal that the DIDS is valid in the Spanish context and that significant gender differences were observed in some dimensions of identity development, with men scoring higher for identification with commitment and women scoring higher for exploration in depth and ruminative exploration. Finally, both dimensions of commitment and ruminative exploration had a stronger effect on men's than on women's adjustment, suggesting that the integration of the self has more impact on men's outcomes than on women's. These findings highlight the need to include the gender perspective in all future research in order to gain deeper insight into the relationship between the identity development process and adjustment during emerging adulthood. KEYWORDS emerging adulthood, flourishing, identity, psychological distress, validation 2 | SÁNCHEZ-QUEIJA et al. adolescence, although it was also widely accepted that the process may continue during the third decade of life, particularly among those with a high socio-cultural status who could afford to continue exploring for longer (Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1966). In recent years, however, globalization and the socio-political, economic, cultural and historical changes that have taken place in industrialized countries have delayed the acquisition of adult roles and commitments among the general population. This has resulted in the definition of a new developmental stage between the ages of 18 and 29 years known as emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000, 2014) and the consideration of identity development as one of the key characteristics of this stage (Arnett, 2000, 2014; Schwartz et al., 2013). Understanding the impact of social and cultural changes on the identity development of emerging adults has been, and continues to be, one of the fundamental goals of 21st-century research (Arnett, 2015; Schwartz et al., 2013). However, most recent research into identity has been conducted in the United States and some European countries, with this field being largely unexplored in Spain. Erikson's seminal work was later continued by his disciple Marcia, who developed a taxonomy dividing people into four different identity status groups in accordance with the presence or absence of two dimensions: commitment and exploration. Exploration is understood as individuals' active search for options to commit to, and commitment is understood as the individual's choice of those alternatives that best respond to their goals, values and interests, and which give them a sense of purpose and direction in life (Marcia, 1966; Marcia & Adelson, 1980). The four statuses are identity diffusion, or absence of exploration and commitment; identity moratorium, or exploration without commitment; identity foreclosure, or commitment without prior exploration; and identity achievement, or presence of exploration and commitment. Marcia's model had some limitations in terms of explaining identity construction in the long term, since it considered identity to be an outcome achieved at a specific point in one's life. However, further research revealed that identity resolution is far from being a closed result; rather, it is a dynamic process that can fluctuate over the years. Individuals may shift status and change commitments (or not) due to the diverse events and experiences that they face in their lifespan, particularly during emerging adulthood. In light of these findings, this model has been expanded over recent decades. One avenue of research has sought to explore the meaning of commitment and exploration in greater depth (Bosma, 1985; Grotevant, 1987; Grotevant et al., 1982; Luyckx et al., 2005, 2008; Luyckx, Goossens, et al., 2006; Meeus, 1996; Meeus et al., 2002). In these models, the commitment dimension was divided into commitment making, defined as the choice of one or more key commitments in the development of one's identity, and identification with commitment, which reflects the degree to which a commitment is aligned with individual values, projects, goals, and ideals (Bosma, 1985). Other authors distinguish between two types of exploration (Luyckx et al., 2005, 2008; Luyckx, Goossens, et al., 2006): exploration in breadth, which is similar to the exploration defined by Marcia and typically takes place prior to commitment making, and exploration in depth, which refers to an individual's reassessment of their commitment and Statement of contribution • It is known that identity development is related to well-being and adjustment in adolescents and emerging adults, but few studies in Spain address this matter. We aimed to explore that relationship in Spain during emerging adulthood from a gender perspective, priorly validating the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS) to guarantee its validity and reliability in the Spanish population. • DIDS is a valid and reliable measure for its use in the Spanish population. • Identity development is related to well-being and adjustment in the Spanish population, with similarities and differences regarding other worldwide populations. • Observed gender differences reflect the need to deepen in the study of identity development from a gender perspective. 2044835x, 0, Downloaded from https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjdp.12470 by Universidad De Sevilla, Wiley Online Library on [04/12/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License | 3 IDENTITY AND ADJUSTMENT FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE may result in identification with commitment. Those findings led to the development of the Dual-Cycle Model (Luyckx et al., 2005), a comprehensive proposal that defines identity development as the result of two dynamic, interrelated and iterative cycles. The first cycle involves exploration in breadth and commitment making, and is similar to Marcia's proposal; the second involves exploration in depth and identification with commitment, during which individuals reassess their initial commitments in order to determine whether they identify with them, or not (Luyckx et al., 2005; Luyckx, Goossens, et al., 2006). This model is complemented by a third type of exploration, known as ruminative exploration, characterized by the presence of unproductive perfectionism behaviours and continuous rumination about the negative aspects of the explored opinions, alongside the feeling of being ‘stuck’ and the fear of committing to the ‘wrong’ option (Luyckx et al., 2008). High scores for ruminative exploration have been found among people with moratorium status, as well as, to a lesser extent, diffusion status, which suggests that this strategy is associated with an identity development process that is far removed from identity achievement and consolidation (Luyckx et al., 2008). The Dual-Cycle Model has been studied in some European countries (Belgium, Luyckx et al., 2008; Finland, Flunger et al., 2016; France, Zimmermann et al., 2014; Greece, Mastrotheodoros & MottiStefanidi, 2017; Hungary, Rivnyák et al., 2022; Italy, Crocetti et al., 2011, and The Netherlands, van Doeselaar et al., 2020), United States (Schwartz et al., 2011) and other countries (Georgia, Skhirtladze et al., 2016; Ladakh, Ozer et al., 2019a; Ozer et al., 2019b), but it has not been validated in Spanishspeaking countries yet. For that reason, one of the aims of this research is the validation of the DIDS in Spain. LINKS BETWEEN IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AND ADJUSTMENT The identity development process has been associated in the extant literature with a range of different personal adjustment variables (Brinthaupt & Scheier, 2022). The role of commitment seems to be fairly clear, with a negative association being found between this variable and anxiety and/or depression, and a positive association being found between statuses involving high commitment levels (achievement and foreclosure) and well-being. Positive associations have also been found between commitment making/identification with commitment and self-esteem (Luyckx, Klimstra, Duriez, Van Petegem, Beyers, Teppers, & Goossens, 2013), indicating that both statuses foster good adjustment (Schwartz et al., 2015). There is less agreement regarding the association between exploration and adjustment. As Schwartz et al. (2011) state, early studies linked the moratorium status (characterized by exploration) with low self-esteem, low well-being and a weaker sense of purpose in life. A similar conclusion was reached by more recent studies, which found that exploration in breadth and exploration in depth correlated positively with symptoms of anxiety and depression (Luyckx, Soenens, & Goossens, 2006), and negatively with self-esteem (study 2 by Luyckx, Klimstra, Duriez, Van Petegem, Beyers, Teppers, & Goossens, 2013). However, exploration is defined by other authors as an adaptive dimension. One example of this is the study by Baggio et al. (2017), which reported a negative correlation between exploration and depression, and a positive correlation between exploration and life satisfaction. Finally, recent studies have failed to find any association at all between exploration (both in depth and in breadth) and depression during emerging adulthood (Luyckx, Klimstra, Duriez, Van Petegem, & Beyers, 2013). It was these inconsistencies that prompted the inclusion of ruminative exploration in the Dual-Cycle Model (Luyckx et al., 2008), under the premise that exploration concealed different sub-dimensions that needed to be defined in order to enable a better understanding of identity development. Ruminative exploration has been found to be consistently and positively associated with anxiety and depression, and negatively associated with self-esteem (Luyckx, Klimstra, Duriez, Van Petegem, & Beyers, 2013; Luyckx, Klimstra, Schwartz, & Duriez, 2013). Therefore, not all the dimensions of exploration have the same relationship with the different dimensions of psychological well-being and distress. 2044835x, 0, Downloaded from https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjdp.12470 by Universidad De Sevilla, Wiley Online Library on [04/12/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 4 | SÁNCHEZ-QUEIJA et al. IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE Although the study and promotion of gender equality have attracted an increasing amount of interest over recent decades (United Nations, 2015), most current research into identity fails to provide gender disaggregated data, and studies offer no in-depth analyses of the differences and similarities which exist between men and women. Traditional gender roles influence the construction of identity. The initial works by Erikson and Marcia identified differences between men and women in terms of the reference domains they used to define their identity (Erikson, 1968; Marcia & Adelson, 1980). Ideological and professional domains were considered key domains for men's identity development, whereas all things related to the maintenance of interpersonal relationships were defined as key domains for women. According to these same authors, the fact that interpersonal relationships are a key element in women's identity development process may indicate that this process lasts longer among women than among men (Erikson, 1968; Marcia & Adelson, 1980). Indeed, classic postulates state that men's identity precedes intimacy, whereas among women, the opposite is true (Erikson, 1968; Gilligan, 1982), a position that supports the aforementioned hypothesis. A third aspect in which men and women may differ is in the degree of exploration and experimentation in which they engage. Given that concepts such as individuation, agency and independence stand out in the construction of the traditional male identity, whereas everything related to care and communion with others is highlighted in relation to the traditional female identity, one may expect exploration to be significantly more facilitated for men than for women, a circumstance that impacts both genders' respective identity development processes. As Cramer (2000) states, the first studies on identity found a higher proportion of men than women in the identity achievement status group, indicating (by definition) that men had higher levels of exploration and commitment, and other data also support the idea of a higher level of commitment and identification with commitment among men (Bogaerts et al., 2019). However, studies based on the Dual-Cycle Model have failed to find any gender differences in the DIDS dimensions (study 1 by Luyckx et al., 2008) or report higher levels of exploration in depth and ruminative exploration among women (Crocetti et al., 2013, 2015; study 2 by Luyckx et al., 2008; Merrill et al., 2016), along with higher commitment scores (Crocetti et al., 2015; Johnson et al., 2012; Morsunbul et al., 2014). This variability in the results reported may reflect the psychosocial nature of the identity construct. In other words, the heterogeneity of the results obtained to date may reflect socio-historical changes that have occurred in relation to gender roles, demonstrating the need to continue exploring identity development from a gender perspective in different contexts and in the present day. The gap detected in the literature on the Dual-Cycle Model regarding gender differences is even greater in relation to the association between identity and the various indicators of adjustment. To the best of our knowledge, only two studies have sought to analyse this relationship and moreover, do so within the framework of different theoretical models. In a North American sample, Ritchie et al. (2013) found that ruminative exploration affected men's well-being more negatively than women's, and that whereas exploration decreased externalizing problems among women, it increased them among men. In both cases, the effect sizes were small. No gender differences were found in the association between exploration and well-being, ruminative exploration and externalizing problems, commitment and well-being, and commitment and externalizing problems. For their part, and working within the theoretical framework of identity styles, Berzonsky and Kinney (2019) found no gender differences in the association between different identity styles and depression. THE PRESENT STUDY The present study analyses different aspects of identity development from the perspective of the Dual-Cycle Model in a sample of emerging adult students studying at Spanish universities. Spain 2044835x, 0, Downloaded from https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjdp.12470 by Universidad De Sevilla, Wiley Online Library on [04/12/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License | 5 IDENTITY AND ADJUSTMENT FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE is one of the countries in Europe in which young people take the longest to become economically independent and adopt adult roles (Eurostat, 2022). This is reflected in the average age at which they leave the parental home, 30.3 years (29.5 years among women and 31 years among men). This age is nearly 4 years above the average age for youth across all European Union countries, which stands at 26.4 years (Eurostat, 2022). This disparity could be attributed to economic precariousness and the high rates of youth job instability and unemployment in Spain (INE, 2022). The characteristics of this socioeconomic context may delay young people's acquisition of adult roles and hamper the process of identity maturation, structuration and consolidation in the medium and long term. Bearing in mind the almost total lack of studies focusing on identity development in Spain and the specific characteristics of its youth population outlined in the previous paragraph, Aim 1 was to validate the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS) in a Spanish sample. Aim 2 was to explore gender differences in the dimensions of the Dual-Model Cycle and Aim 3 was to explore the association between said dimensions and two indicators of adjustment (flourishing and general distress), focusing particularly on the moderating role of gender. In the light of previous results described in the literature (Crocetti et al., 2011, 2013, 2015), we expected the DIDS to be valid in the Spanish context. Regarding aims 2 and 3, and due to the inconclusiveness of previous research findings, no specific hypotheses were established. METHOD Sample Participants were 1502 students (39.9% men and 60.1% women) from the Universities of Sevilla and País Vasco. The sample was drawn from all five of the principal knowledge areas: Arts and Humanities, Social and Legal Science, Science, Health Science and Engineering, and Architecture. Ages ranged between 18 and 29 years (M = 20.32, SD = 2.13). The distribution of the sample in terms of socioeconomic status was as follows: 15.8% had a low, 70.1% a medium and 14.1% a high socioeconomic status. Instruments The sociodemographic variables gathered were gender, age, socioeconomic status, knowledge area and university. Socioeconomic status was estimated by a question with six possible answers, ranging from 1. We currently have trouble getting to the end of the month to 6. We have no financial worries. Values 1 and 2 correspond to the Low income group, values 3 and 4 to the Medium income group and values 5 and 6 to the High income group. Identity The Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS) by Luyckx et al. (2008) was used to measure identity development. This instrument comprises 25 items rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale that measure five subscales: Commitment making (CM, e.g., ‘Decided on the direction I want to follow in life’; α = .91), Identification with commitment (IC, e.g., ‘Future plans give me self-confidence’; α = .90), Exploration in breadth (EB, e.g., ‘Try to find out which lifestyle would be good for me’; α = .86), Exploration in depth (ED, e.g., ‘Think about the future plans I have made’; α = .79) and Ruminative exploration (RE, e.g., ‘Doubtful about what I really want to achieve in life’; α = .85). 2044835x, 0, Downloaded from https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjdp.12470 by Universidad De Sevilla, Wiley Online Library on [04/12/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 6 | SÁNCHEZ-QUEIJA et al. Well-being/flourishing To measure well-being, participants completed the Spanish version (De la Fuente et al., 2017) of the Flourishing Scale (Diener et al., 2010). This instrument assesses an individual's level of flourishing using eight items rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale (e.g., ‘I lead a purposeful and meaningful life’). The scale had an overall reliability value of α = .81. Distress The Spanish version (Bados et al., 2005) of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), developed by Lovibond and Lovibond (1995), was used to measure distress. This instrument comprises 21 items rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale (e.g., ‘I felt down-hearted and blue’; α = .94). Procedure We contacted faculty at the Universities of Sevilla and País Vasco to explain the purpose of the study and request the participation of their students. The data were collected during class time. The members of the research team explained the aims of the study to students and administered the questionnaire in paper format. Students completed the questionnaire voluntarily, anonymously and after having been assured that they could withdraw at any time. All the students present at the time completed the questionnaire. The study was approved by the Andalusia Biomedical Research Ethic Coordinator Committee. Analysis plan To evaluate the validity of the DIDS, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed using Lisrel 8.0 and the RML (Robust Maximum Likelihood) estimator. With samples comprising over 250 participants and with 25 variables, the following values are required for a model to be deemed to have a good fit: a NNFI of over .92, a CFI of over .92 and an RMSEA of under .07 (Hair et al., 2009). However, the fit of the model may still be deemed acceptable if the RMSEA value is lower than .10 (Browne & Cudeck, 1992). Next, a one-way ANOVA was performed using the IBM SPSS v26 program to analyse gender differences in the five dimensions of the DIDS, calculating the effect size also. This was followed by correlational analyses with the General Distress and Flourishing scales and the DIDS dimensions. Effect sizes were interpreted bearing in mind the fact that, for the Pearson correlation and Cohen's d, values of between .00 and .05 and between .0 and .1 (respectively) are considered indicative of a negligible effect size, values between .10 and .20 and between .1 and .4 (respectively) are considered indicative of small effect size, values between .24 and .33 and between .5 and .7 (respectively), are deemed to indicate a medium effect size and values of over .37 and .8 (respectively) are deemed to indicate large effect sizes (Cohen, 1992). The PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2012) in the SPSS v26 program was used to analyse whether or not gender moderated the relationship between identity and adjustment. PROCESS performs regression analyses with centered variables in order to avoid multicollinearity. It also provides the data necessary to compile moderation graphs. Transparency and openness The de-identified data used in the analysis of this study are available in an online repository. The study design, hypotheses and analytic plan were not preregistered. The data that support the findings of this study are available on the following link: https:// idus. us. es/ handle/ 11441/ 137600. 2044835x, 0, Downloaded from https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjdp.12470 by Universidad De Sevilla, Wiley Online Library on [04/12/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License | 7 IDENTITY AND ADJUSTMENT FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE RESULTS Our first aim was to verify that the scale developed by Luyckx et al. (2008) was valid in the Spanish context. The results of the CFA were as follows: NNFI = .95; CFI = .95; RMSEA = .097, indicating an acceptable fit of the five-factor model proposed by the original authors, comprising Commitment Making, Identification with Commitment, Exploration in Breadth, Exploration in Depth, and Ruminative Exploration. Table 1 shows the factor loadings of the items of each subscale of DIDS. Our second aim was to explore gender differences between the identity dimensions of the DualCycle Model. Table 2 shows the gender differences observed in all five dimensions of the DIDS. The data reveal that men identified more with commitment than women, and women scored higher in exploration depth and ruminative exploration. In all three cases, the effect size was small. No significant differences were found in commitment making or exploration in breadth. Our third aim was to explore the association between identity dimensions and adjustment (flourishing and general distress), focusing particularly on the moderating role of gender. The correlations between the DIDS dimensions, flourishing and distress are shown in Table 3. Commitment making and identification with commitment correlated negatively with general distress and positively with flourishing. Exploration in breadth and exploration in depth correlated positively with both flourishing and distress. Ruminative exploration correlated negatively with flourishing and positively with distress. TABLE 1 Factor loadings of the items of the DIDS subscales. Commitment making Identification with commitment Exploration in breadth Exploration in depth Ruminative exploration Item 1 .75 Item 2 .94 Item 3 .96 Item 4 .80 Item 5 .77 Item 6 .91 Item 7 .94 Item 8 .87 Item 9 .68 Item 10 .69 Item 11 .80 Item 12 .82 Item 13 .69 Item 14 .73 Item 15 .62 Item 16 .84 Item 17 .67 Item 18 .57 Item 19 .48 Item 20 .80 Item 21 .80 Item 22 1.03 Item 23 1.16 Item 24 0.98 Item 25 .56 2044835x, 0, Downloaded from https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjdp.12470 by Universidad De Sevilla, Wiley Online Library on [04/12/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 8 | SÁNCHEZ-QUEIJA et al. To fully address aim 3, we analysed the potential moderating role of gender in the relationship between the different dimensions of the Dual-Cycle Model and young people's personal adjustment. Ten hierarchical linear regression analyses were carried out with gender as the moderator variable and flourishing and general distress (separately) as the dependent variables. Independent variables were the five dimensions of identity development, which were also analysed in separate models. In each model, gender and an identity dimension were included in the first step, and the interaction between this same identity dimension and gender was included in the second step. In the interest of space and parsimony, Table 4 only shows the data pertaining to this second step (interaction). Commitment making and identification with commitment were positively associated with flourishing among both men and women (Figures 1 and 2), with the association being stronger among men. The association between ruminative exploration and flourishing, on the other hand, was negative, with this association again being stronger among men (Figure 3). Commitment making was negatively associated with distress, with this association being stronger among men than among women (Figure 4). Ruminative exploration, on the other hand, was positively associated with distress, with this association again being stronger among men than among women (Figure 5). DISCUSSION The aims of the present study were to validate the Spanish version of the DIDS and to explore the relationship between the identity development process and adjustment during emerging adulthood, from a gender perspective. The results obtained in the CFA indicate that, just as in other countries, the fivefactor structure proposed by the original authors of the scale (Luyckx et al., 2008) fit the Spanish sample of emerging adult university students. This suggests that the DIDS is suitable for use in Spain and that the Dual-Cycle Model is adapted to this context. Commitment making and identification with commitment were found to be positively associated with healthy adjustment, characterized by low distress and high flourishing. These two dimensions of commitment have been viewed as indicators of identity maturity, which in turn, plays a normative role in the construction of the self and young people's psychosocial functioning during emerging adulthood TABLE 2 Descriptive statistics and ANOVAs for the five subscales of the DIDS, comparing men and women. Men Women Total F (df) Cohen's dM (SD) M (SD) M (SD) Commitment making 3.75 (.87) 3.71 (.89) 3.73 (.88) 0.78 (1, 1491) .05 Identification with commitment 3.72 (.86) 3.63 (.86) 3.67 (.86) 3.93* (1, 1490) .11 Exploration in breadth 3.81 (.79) 3.88 (.79) 3.85 (.79) 2.32 (1, 1487) .09 Exploration in depth 3.42 (.78) 3.52 (.79) 3.48 (.79) 5.70* (1, 1486) .13 Ruminative exploration 3.05 (1.02) 3.16 (.96) 3.11 (.98) 4.33* (1, 1485) .11 *p < .05. TABLE 3 Correlation between the DIDS dimensions and distress and flourishing. Commitment making Identification with commitment Exploration in breadth Exploration in depth Ruminative exploration Distress −.21** −.22** .17** .12** .28** Flourishing .40** .43** .11** .17** −.25** **p < .01. 2044835x, 0, Downloaded from https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjdp.12470 by Universidad De Sevilla, Wiley Online Library on [04/12/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License | 9 IDENTITY AND ADJUSTMENT FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE (Luyckx, Klimstra, Duriez, Van Petegem, & Beyers, 2013; Meeus et al., 2010). The results of our study suggest that making commitments and identifying with them satisfactorily may facilitate the construction of a sounder and more structured identity during emerging adulthood, which in turn may foster greater flourishing and help mitigate or protect against general distress. Exploration in breadth and in depth, on the other hand, were found to be positively associated with both distress and flourishing (Luyckx, Klimstra, Duriez, Van Petegem, & Beyers, 2013). The apparent ambivalence of exploration in breadth and in depth, in terms of their relationship with flourishing and distress, may be linked to the age and developmental stage of the sample. Luyckx, Klimstra, Duriez, Van Petegem, and Beyers (2013) observed a progressive decrease over time in the association between the commitment and exploration dimensions, which is particularly notable during emerging adulthood. TABLE 4 Interaction effects of the five dimensions of identity and flourishing/distress, moderated by gender. Flourishing Distress β CI 95% (LLCI, ULCI) tβ CI 95% (LLCI, ULCI) t CM × Gender −1.25** (−1.84, −.66) −4.12 3.03*(.58, 5.47) 2.43 Men 3.28*** (2.81, 3.74) 13.83 −6.86*** (−8.77, −4.95) −7.04 Women 2.03*** (1.66, 2.40) 10.75 −3.83*** (−5.36, −2.31) −4.94 IC × Gender −1.08** (−1.68, −.49) −3.56 1.93 (−.57, 4.44) 1.51 Men 3.49*** (3.03, 3.95) 14.79 – – – Women 2.41*** (2.03, 2.78) 12.49 – – – EB × Gender .25 (−0.47, .98) .68 −.85 (−.3.60, 1.91) −.61 ED × Gender −.23 (−0.95, .50) −.61 −.01 (−2.81, 2.80) −.004 RE × Gender .59*(0.03, 1.14) 2.06 −2.30*(−4.44, −.17) −2.11 Men −1.81*** (−2.23, −1.38) −8.34 7.38*** (5.76, 9.00) 8.92 Women −1.22*** (−1.59, −.86) −6.48 5.08*** (3.69, 6.46) 7.16 Abbreviations: CM, commitment making; EB, exploration in breadth; ED, exploration in depth; IC, identification with commitment; RE, ruminative exploration. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. 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