The vast majority of theses in this collection are open access and freely available. There are a small number of theses that have access restricted to the WWU campus. For off-campus access to a thesis labeled "Campus Only Access," please log in here with your WWU universal ID, or talk to your librarian about requesting the restricted thesis through interlibrary loan.

Date Permissions Signed

11-24-2015

Date of Award

Fall 2015

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

McLean, Kate C.

Second Advisor

Goodvin, Rebecca

Third Advisor

Forgays, Deborah

Abstract

Past research of emerging adults has yet to investigate the individual experiences and processes of identity development in emerging adults who are in the workforce or currently unemployed (Hendry & Kloep, 2007), predominately focusing on emerging adults attending universities. The current study expands the study of identity development in emerging adulthood to include varied educational contexts. The current study compared normative college students, first generation college students, technical college students and those who have never attended college, to evaluate potential group differences in identity exploration and the relationship between identity exploration and psychological adjustment. Emerging adults in college contexts engaged in more complex identity processing than those who never attended college. However, identity achievement was associated with positive outcomes in all groups. Further, it appears that the contexts under which identity processing occur may vary, though this remains a question for future research.

Type

Text

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25710/54jh-rm81

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

953528258

Subject – LCSH

Identity (Psychology) in youth; Young adults--Psychological aspects; Young adults--Education--Psychological aspects; College students--Psychological aspects

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS