Identity style, psychosocial maturity, and academic performance

The present study investigated the role that differences in identity processing style may play in how effectively students adapt to a college context. Identity style refers to relatively stable differences in how students make decisions, solve personal problems, and process identity-relevant information. Measures of student psychosocial developmental tasks, identity style, and identity commitment were administered to 460 university freshmen (mean age = 18.3; 60% women); SAT scores and measures of academic performance were also obtained. Results indicated that students who entered college with an informational identity style were best prepared to function successfully in a university setting: they possessed high levels of academic autonomy, had a clear sense of educational purpose, were socially skilled, and tended to perform well academically. In contrast, students with a diffuse-avoidant style were at relative disadvantage on these dimensions. Students with a normative identity style also had a clear sense of academic direction. However, they were significantly less tolerant, and less academically and emotionally autonomous than their informational counterparts.