The Influence of Identity Styles on Adolescents’ Psychological Problems in Postcommunist Albania

Skerdi Zahaj () and Radosveta Dimitrova ()
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Skerdi Zahaj: University of Tirana
Radosveta Dimitrova: Stockholm University

A chapter in Changing Values and Identities in the Post-Communist World, 2018, pp 281-294 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter examines relationships between identity development and “core” psychological problems among young people in postcommunist Albania. Albania is a new democratic state since 1991 after the collapse of the communist regime, where identity is a now major issue. Based on social-cognitive models, identity is conceptualized as a self-theory constructed during adolescence within a social context [Berzonsky, A social-cognitive perspective on identity construction. In: Schwartz et al. (eds.) Handbook of identity theory and research. Springer, New York (2011)]. In this chapter, identity styles are considered identity-processing orientations of adolescents, while “core” psychological problems are considered lack of well-being, clinical symptoms, lack of functioning, and risk to harm self and others. Participants were 840 adolescents aged 15–23 years old who completed the Revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-5; Berzonsky, 2013) and the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure [CORE-OM, Bodinaku, Translation, validation and standardization of the Albanian version of the SCL-90-R (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised) and CORE-OM (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluations – Outcome Measure), Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Sigmund Freud Private University, Vienna (2014)]. Path models confirm that identity-processing styles were predictors of adolescents’ core psychological problems. The informative identity style was negatively associated with adolescent’s symptoms such as anxiety and depression, whereas normative and diffuse-avoidant identity styles were positively associated with lack of subjective well-being, symptoms, and risk to harm self and others. These findings are explained in the specific context of youths in postcommunist Albania.

Keywords: Identity; Identity development; Psychological health; Albanian adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:socchp:978-3-319-72616-8_16

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-72616-8_16

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