Personal Identity in College and the Work Context: Developmental Trajectories and Psychosocial Functioning

Personal identity formation represents a core developmental challenge for adolescents and young adults. Because much of the identity literature focuses on college students, it is necessary to conduct a detailed inquiry into the ways in which specific commitment and exploration processes develop over time for college students and for employed individuals. Two samples (456 college students and 318 employed individuals) were used to identify identity status trajectories over time and to examine external correlates of these trajectories (i.e. depressive symptoms, self‐esteem, identity centrality, community integration, and sense of adulthood). Similar identity trajectories emerged in both college students and employed individuals. Four of these trajectories corresponded to Marcia's identity statuses. In addition, apart from the ‘classical’ or troubled diffusion trajectory, a carefree diffusion trajectory was also obtained. Whereas individuals on an identity‐achieved pathway fared best in terms of the outcome measures, individuals in the troubled diffusion trajectory fared worst in terms of self‐esteem, depressive symptoms, and community integration over time. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Consistent Partial Least Squares for Nonlinear Structural Equation Models

Partial Least Squares as applied to models with latent variables, measured indirectly by indicators, is well-known to be inconsistent. The linear compounds of indicators that PLS substitutes for the latent variables do not obey the equations that the latter satisfy. We propose simple, non-iterative corrections leading to consistent and asymptotically normal (CAN)-estimators for the loadings and for the correlations between the latent variables. Moreover, we show how to obtain CAN-estimators for the parameters of structural recursive systems of equations, containing linear and interaction terms, without the need to specify a particular joint distribution. If quadratic and higher order terms are included, the approach will produce CAN-estimators as well when predictor variables and error terms are jointly normal. We compare the adjusted PLS, denoted by PLSc, with Latent Moderated Structural Equations (LMS), using Monte Carlo studies and an empirical application.     

Theologian,Teacher, and Friend: Tributes to James M. Gustafson

James M. Gustafson, who died in 2021, has influenced generations of theologians and ethicists. In this article, five students, colleagues, and friends provide short reflections on what Gustafson has meant for their work as scholars of theology and religious ethics.