This study draws upon self-verification theory, social identity theory and self-categorization theory to investigate the dual effects of system design, i.e., identity confirmation (the self) and identification (the community), on virtual community (VC) participation. An important theoretical development is the conceptualization of VC identity and the elucidation of its system design determinant...

Ethnic socialization and ethnic identity have been related to positive outcomes, but little research has examined these associations longitudinally. This three-wave study prospectively linked socialization messages at Time 1, ethnic identity and American identity at Time 2, and self-esteem and depressive symptoms at Time 3 in 147 (58% female; 25% first-generation) Asian-American adolescents. Th...

Diverse theories suggest that people are motivated to maintain or enhance feelings of self-esteem, continuity, distinctiveness, belonging, efficacy, and meaning in their identities. Four studies tested the influence of these motives on identity construction, by using a multilevel regression design. Participants perceived as more central those identity elements that provided a greater sense of s...

Variations of sexual identity development are present in all cultures, as well as in many animal species. Freud - founding father of psychoanalysis - believed that all men have an inherited, bisexual disposition, and that many varieties of love and desire are experienced as alternative pathways to intimacy. In the neuropsychoanalytic model, psychic development starts with the constitutional sel...

The relationship between self-regulatory capacities and self-esteem as well as well-being is examined by a mediation model that views self-regulation as promoting the development of identity achievement which, in turn, is expected to be associated with well-being. Among secondary school students (Study 1) identity achievement mediated the association between the self-regulatory capacity of atte...

OBJECTIVES To study the aging self, that is, conceptions of one's own aging process, in relation to identity processes and self-esteem in the United States and the Netherlands. As the liberal American system has a stronger emphasis on individual responsibility and youthfulness than the social-democratic Dutch system, we expect that youthful and positive perceptions of one's own aging process ar...