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Fathers and sons: A study of ego identity across two generations

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Abstract

This study was designed to compare the relative frequencies of the various ego identity statuses across two generations and to determine the nature of the relationship between the identity statuses of fathers and their sons. Male college students and their fathers were given Marcia 's semistructured ego identity status interview. Generational comparisons revealed that the fathers were significantly more likely than their sons to be in the foreclosure category and were significantly less likely than their sons to be in the moratorium and diffusion statuses. No relationship was found between the identity statuses of fathers and their sons. Among the fathers, high levels of education were found to be associated with identity achievement, while low levels of education were associated with identity diffusion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York

    Caroline K. Waterman

  2. Department of Psychology, Trenton State College, Trenton, New Jersey

    Alan S. Waterman

Authors
  1. Caroline K. Waterman
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  2. Alan S. Waterman
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Received her Ph.D. from SUNY/Buffalo. Recent research has been mainly concerned with the development of ego identity and correlates of the different identity statuses.

Received his Ph.D. from SUNY/Buffalo. Recent research has been mainly concerned with the development of ego identity and correlates of the different identity statuses.

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Waterman, C.K., Waterman, A.S. Fathers and sons: A study of ego identity across two generations. J Youth Adolescence 4, 331–338 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536898

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536898

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