The Relationships of Personal and Cultural Identity to Adaptive and Maladaptive Psychosocial Functioning in Emerging Adults

摘要

The present study examined the extent to which cultural identity would beassociated with adaptive and maladaptive psychosocial functioning, both directly andindirectly through a personal identity consolidation. A sample of 773 White, Black, andHispanic university students completed measures of cultural identity, personal identityconsolidation, adaptive psychosocial functioning, internalizing symptoms, and proclivitytoward externalizing symptoms. Both heritage and American cultural identity were posi-tively related to adaptive psychosocial functioning; American-culture identity was negativelyassociated with internalizing symptoms; and heritage-culture identity was negativelyrelated to proclivity toward externalizing symptoms. All of these findings were mediatedby personal identity consolidation and were fully consistent across ethnic groups. We discussimplications in terms of broadening the study of identity to include both personal and culturaldimensions of self.