Browsing by Subject "Women -- Identity"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Career Identity and Mental Health in Emerging Adulthood: The Roles of Parenting and Socioeconomic Status
    (2020) Litvitskiy, Nicole; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
    Developing one's identity is a major psychological process that primarily occurs during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Many findings point to the importance of one's identity development for their mental well-being, and additional literature supports a link between career identity development and mental health in emerging adults. Parenting and socioeconomic status (SES) have been linked to these two psychological factors, but questions remain about the directionality of the relationships and the unique role of SES. In Study 1, we employ a longitudinal design to examine how parental autonomy support predicts career identity development and mental health, and vice versa. Additionally, we assess the role of SES as a potential moderator of these effects. In Study 2, we aim to replicate and extend these findings through the added use of a narrative approach. Results indicate that autonomy support predicts healthy career identity development and mental well-being, and this finding is especially true for low SES students. Additionally, the use of a contextualized narrative approach offers further insight into identity development and the role of parenting. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.
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    Career-Parent Identity Integration in College Women and Mothers: The Effects of The Big 5 Traits and SES
    (2020) Bettio, Elena; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
    This study examined the relationships between the Big 5 personality traits, career-parent identities, work-family conflict, well-being, and socioeconomic status in college women and current mothers. Through the use of an identity developmental and narrative approach, we examined how these variables were correlated with each other and how they varied according to SES. As hypothesized, we found correlations between identity exploration and commitment with the personality traits of neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness; these associations were more often found and stronger for adult mothers than college students. The negative relationships that were predicted among neuroticism, work-family conflict and well-being were generally supported. Little evidence was found for the effect of socioeconomic status on these variables; for college-aged women, high SES only affected the reported levels of work-parent ruminative exploration, and in the adult mothers sample, contradictory findings for SES were found. However, we did find evidence of greater difficulties among lower SES mothers, as the correlations of identity conflict with life satisfaction and neuroticism were stronger for this group of women. The results also suggested that work-parent identity development is not as relevant in association with the Big 5 for college-aged women, perhaps because it requires the imagination of future scenarios. In contrast, the associations that were observed in the current mothers sample were consistent with previous literature. Nevertheless, more research needs to be conducted with bigger samples in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of SES. Additional limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.
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    Examining Individual Differences in Career and Parent Identity Integration in College Students and Current Mothers
    (2020) Aronowitz, Caroline; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
    Women face the complex and unique problem of having to negotiate their career and parent identities. From as young as adolescence and long through adulthood, these identities can and often exist in conflict. The present study aims to investigate the ways in which women integrate their career and parent identities into one coherent career-parent identity. Through a two sample, narrative identity approach, the study examines individual differences in personality traits and socioeconomic status (SES) in a sample of college-aged women (Study 1) and a sample of current mothers (Study 2). Findings generally suggest relations between the Big Five personality traits with several aspects of career, parent, and career-parent identity exploration and commitment variables for samples, replicating and extending previous literature. Study 2 reveals significant differences between socioeconomic status with work-parent identity conflict. The findings of these studies demonstrate significant findings that are relevant to the struggles that women face when attempting to integrate two complex and prevalent identities in their lives.
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    Fluidity and Diversity in Non-heterosexual Women's Sexual Identity Processes and Implications for Their Well-being
    (2012) Chu-Richardson, Yani; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
    Recent studies have suggested that sexuality is more socially constructed and contextually dependent than traditional conceptions of sexual identity account for; in fact, fluidity has been supported as a predominant characteristic of sexuality for the majority of nonheterosexual women (Diamond, 2008). This study investigated the diversity and fluidity of women who have had non-heterosexual experiences, attractions, or identifications in order to understand how sexuality identity processes and well-being relate to sexual desires and preferences that are defined by continuous change. The primary focus of inquiry was on how processes of exploration and commitment relate to self-labeling, fluidity, and well-being. These variables were measured within an online survey that included multiple self-report measures and personal narratives that were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. As predicted, every facet of fluidity was found to be associated with sexual identity exploration. Sexual identity commitment and exploration were also found to be positively related to well-being. As the first study to have investigated fluidity's relationship to well-being, the findings supported that fluidity most often stimulates exploration of sexual identity in ways that promote well-being. However, if an individual has fluidity that is associated with identity uncertainty, distancing themselves from exploration of this aspect of their sexuality can be detrimental to well-being. A theoretical model of the complex relationship between fluidity, exploration, and well-being was proposed.
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    Individual Differences in Career and Parent Identity Development and Integration Among College Women and Adult Mothers
    (2020) Wytkind, Lindsay; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
    Research about identity development suggests that exploration and commitment to identity domains leads to identity achievement, which is important for optimal psychological functioning. Additionally, integrating multiple identity domains is a key part of identity development, as it leads to a cohesive sense of self for individuals. Women often struggle to integrate two key identity domains -- career and parent identities -- as there is still intense societal pressure for women to follow traditional domestically-focused gender norms. In two studies, one with college women and one with adult mothers, the present research addresses the development and negotiation of career and parent identities through analyzing the individual differences in personality traits and socio-economic status for women in these samples, and how this in turn impacts their well-being. Using a mixed-methods approach, we gathered quantitative data through scales and qualitative data through written answers to narrative prompts. In both studies, we found that personality traits strongly related to individual differences in how women develop and anticipate/experience their career-parent identity negotiation. In Study 1, we found that SES did not significantly relate to career-parent identity negotiation. However, in Study 2, we found that SES significantly and interestingly related to the ways that mothers experienced their career-parent identities and reported their well-being. In particular, we found that career-parent identity conflict for low SES mothers more negatively impacted their well-being.
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    Sexual Fluidity, Identity Processes, and Well-Being: An Integrative Approach to Female Sexual Identity
    (2012) Bishop, Meg; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
    In light of a growing body of literature suggesting that female sexual identity may be experienced as fluid and contextual rather than linear and essentialist, the current study sought to investigate the psychological processes that drive non-heterosexual identity development among women in the stage of emerging adulthood. A sample of 109 women between the ages of 18 and 30 completed an online questionnaire including measures of sexual fluidity, narrative exploration, identity process variables, and well-being in order to elucidate trends in sexual identity development and understand how these trends related to identity processes and well-being. As hypothesized, measures of fluidity were positively associated with measures of identity exploration, and identity processes variables including exploration and commitment were positively associated with well-being. Additionally, exploration moderated the association between fluidity and well-being such that those who were highly fluid but low in exploration scored lower in well-being. Two distinct patterns of correlations between our main study variables are discussed as a reflection of two conceptually distinct experiences of sexual fluidity: uncertain fluidity which requires active identity exploration to combat threats to well-being, and committed fluidity, which does not depend on high levels of identity exploration to maintain well-being. A conceptual model of the relationship between fluidity, identity exploration, and well-being is developed, and implications for future research are discussed.
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    Sexual Fluidity: Identity Processes and Exploration in the Female Narrative
    (2012) Bragg, Hilary; Lilgendahl, Jennifer
    Past research suggests that female sexuality may be more culturally and socially constructed, exhibiting more fluidity, than male sexuality. Until recently, little research has included women in sexuality research, claiming that their sexualities are too complicated. The present study attempted to examine sexual fluidity in women, and how this concept is incorporated into the process of identity formation and development through the identity processes of exploration and commitment. The narrative approach to identity was utilized — in order to grasp the individuality in experiences of sexuality — along with measures of sexual fluidity, psychological well-being, identity exploration and commitment and other identity development measures. Results suggest varied experiences of sexual fluidity and the importance of identity exploration and commitment in achieving high well-being. As hypothesized, fluidity was positively correlated with exploration. Furthermore, well-being was positively associated with both exploration and commitment. Finally, a moderated relationship between Identity Fluidity, exploration and well-being was observed, such that while independent of well-being in the presence of exploration, fluidity in the absence of exploration could be detrimental for one's well-being. A theoretical model of the relationship between two potential types of sexual fluidity, exploration and well-being is proposed and discussed in light of our emerging pattern of results. Implications, limitations and future directions are discussed.
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    The Virtues of the Dead: Women's Funerary Monuments in Classical Attica
    (2020) Johnson, Hope; Farmer, Matthew C.
    This thesis addresses the topic of women's funerary stelai from Classical Attica which praise the virtue of the deceased. In contrast to earlier scholars, I argue for a holistic approach when analyzing these monuments, maintaining that epigraphy and iconography are inextricably interconnected and must be analyzed appropriately. These elements provide complementary information, working together to give viewers a complete picture of the roles the deceased fulfilled during her lifetime as well as the ways in which she exercised her virtue within the familial and domestic spheres. In addition, I argue that these laudatory grave stelai served a purpose beyond marking where an individual was buried. Such monuments performed a multifaceted role in identity construction on various scales, functioning to establish not only the identity of the individual deceased but also the identity of the idealized woman. Furthermore, the grave markers aided in the construction of the identities of the oikos and the polis by illustrating the virtuous natures of the women they produced. Although any given stele might foreground one aspect of identity more than the other aspects, the fact that many monuments constructed all four of these concepts of identity simultaneously is proof of their complexity, which prompts further study.