Background

Youth developmental indicators function as markers of progress or regress for individuals who navigate their own goals and values, adapt to circumstances, and flourish or languish as members of society. Developmental theories of the life course suggest that these markers intersect with statuses of identity that are negotiated cyclically but tend to reflect their situated place within the ecological system milieu. A focus on the transition between emerging and established adulthood provides context for processes in the development of strong internalized values and identity, or “thriving and arriving” versus “regret and renovation” (Mehta, Arnett, Palmer, & Nelson, 2020). These statuses can be captured as dimensions of identity development (DIDS), and the consequences of growing up in a thriving environment can be measured in the framework of positive youth development (PYD).

Aims

Here, we scrutinize the proposed construct of clear and positive identity (Shek, Sun, & Merrick, 2012) by modeling the 5Cs of PYD as adaptive developmental regulations predicted by DIDS factors as dimensions of identity status in a new context of Japan.  

Method

We report (1) the first psychometric investigation of the short-form PYD instrument in Japanese from a cross-sectional survey of emerging adults (n = 1364; age range: 18-29) and (2) structural equation modeling of PYD-DIDS relations from a sample of established adults (n = 786; age range: 30-45).

Results

Results suggested adequate model fit for the psychometric properties of the study variables. Relative to other factors, the final PYD-DIDS model provided positive coefficients supporting relationships between Competence, Character, Caring, and Connection with Exploration in Breadth, and negative coefficients for Competence and Confidence with Ruminative Exploration.

Conclusion

While further external validation work is planned, these findings clarify aspects of clear and positive identity by specifying components that link two theories of youth and identity development across groups of emerging and established adults in Japan. Implications for research on proactive exploration and positive adjustment are discussed.