Lost in Translation: The Conceptual Drift from the Identity Status Interview to Questionnaire Measures

Abstract The identity status model (Marcia et al., J Pers Soc Psychol 3:551--558, 1966) is a widely used framework for identity research in adolescence and adulthood. This paper explores the conceptual and empirical relations between two identity status assessments – the identity status interview (Marcia et al., in Ego identity, Springer, New York, 1993) and the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS; Luyckx et al. in J Res Person, 42:58–82, 2008) ). Study 1 was a systematic review of studies that have statistically derived identity statuses based on the DIDS ( k = 42 samples), revealing pronounced inconsistencies in the meaning and interpretations in the classifications. Study 2 examined the factor structure of the DIDS across three Swedish samples ( N = 429), and then in a subsample of 123 young adults examined correspondence between the DIDS and the identity status interview. Although there were the expected correlations between commitment and exploration processes using the two methods, when the DIDS processes were plotted over the identity statuses as assessed in the identity status interview, expected relations were only detected for the moratorium status, and not for identity achievement, foreclosure, or diffusion. Together, our findings show that aside from the intentional changes made from Marcia’s identity status model to the dual-cycle model, there have been what appear to be a less intentional drift in the definition and operationalization of the core constructs shared by the two models. The findings highlight the need to keep the complexity in identity research, as the risk of getting lost in translation in measurement development is apparent.