Looking at the dark and bright sides of identity formation: New insights from adolescents and emerging adults in Japan

The aim of the present study was to gain new insights into the dark and bright sides of identity formation with a sample of 1851 Japanese adolescents and emerging adults, applying a three-dimensional model of identity formation (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment). By means of cluster analysis, we identified five statuses that strongly resembled statues extracted in prior research with Western youth: achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, diffusion, and searching moratorium. We found that each status reported a distinct profile in terms of personality and psychosocial problems. Importantly, we found that the searching moratorium status was adaptive in adolescence but not in emerging adulthood. These results suggest that the five statuses are replicable in Japanese adolescents and emerging adults, and that the searching moratorium status presents a combination of the bright and dark sides whose prevalence varies with age. Clinical implications for identity research and intervention programs are discussed.