A cross-national study of identity status in Dutch and Italian adolescents: Status distributions and correlates

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in identity formation between large community samples of Italian (N = 1,975) and Dutch (N = 1,521) adolescents. Findings indicated that the distribution across five previously extracted identity statuses (i.e., achievement, early closure, moratorium, searching moratorium, and diffusion) differed strongly across nationality, with Italian participants more represented in the moratorium statuses, and with Dutch adolescents more likely to be in the early closure and diffusion statuses. Furthermore, the profile of the searching moratorium status, in terms of personality characteristics, internalizing symptoms, and parent-adolescent relationships, was found to be more adaptive in the Italian context. These findings are discussed in light of social, economic, and cultural differences between Italy and the Netherlands.