engleski

Identity Processing Style and Life Values of Students and Their Parents

Identity processing style refers to relatively stable differences in how individuals process identity relevant information to negotiate identity conflicts. The relationship between students’ identity processing style and their life values as well as the congruence of values between parents and their college-aged children is still relatively unexplored, especially in the new complex societal circumstances of their maturation. The goals of this study were to determine the relationship between students' identity processing styles and their life values, as well as the relationship with their parents' life values. The participants were 160 female students and their parents, of which 54 were students, 54 were mothers and 52 were fathers. Identity Style Inventory was used to assess the identity style of students and Portrait Value Questionnaire to measure the importance of the ten life values of parents and students. The diffuse- avoidant identity style of students significantly positively correlated with the value of power and negatively with the value of self-direction. Informational identity style of students significantly positively correlated with self- direction and universalism. Normative identity style significantly positively correlated with the values of security, conformity and tradition and negatively with the value of stimulation. Students’ identity style significantly positively correlated only with tradition and negatively with self-direction of their mothers. The results show a significant positive correlation of the mother- student relation on the values of self-direction, power, tradition and universalism, as well as a significant positive correlation of the father- student relation on the values of hedonism, achievement, tradition, benevolence and universalism. Individual differences in identity processing style and similarities and differences in certain values of parents and students were also discussed within the Schwartz theoretical model.

values, identity, students, parents

nije evidentirano