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Psychometric Properties of the Greek Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA): University Student Perceptions of Developmental Features

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Abstract

Emerging adulthood, the transitional period from adolescence to adulthood, differs demographically and is associated with the cultural and socioeconomical environment one lives in. Its key dimensions have been explored in many countries including the USA through the IDEA instrument (Reifman et al. in J Youth Dev 2(1):1–12, 2007). Five dimensions have been identified and associated with specific items. In this paper, we aim to measure the psychometric properties of the IDEA used to measure key developmental features associated with emerging adulthood in Greece. A total of 592 University Humanity and Science students, both male (29.3 %) and female (70.7 %), aged 18–30 years were asked to complete a questionnaire battery including the IDEA and a set of demographic questions. We used structural equation modeling to identify factors underlying the IDEA. We identified three factors, which we named “Identity exploration/Feeling in-between,” “Experimentation/Possibilities/Self-focused” and “Negativity/Instability.” The first two factors appeared to be more prominent in our sample, while evidence of negativity and instability was limited among the study participants. Further analyses assessed the impact of demographic characteristics of participants on the above three factors. Age, gender and type of studies appeared to exert some influence on the perception of main features of emerging adulthood. Further research linking the criteria to the developmental features characterizing this distinct age group is required in order to unveil the intricacies of the phenomena of emerging adulthood in Greece.

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Notes

  1. These were the five original dimensions as defined by Arnett in 2000, plus a sixth dimension termed “other-focus,” as described in the subsequent Reifman, Arnett and Colwell (2007) paper (see following section).

  2. A term used to denote a period of economic crisis that begun in the USA and affected many countries around the globe, spanning roughly from 2007 to 2009 (e.g., see http://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/FP-14-19-divorce-rate-recession.pdf).

  3. A copy of the 31-item Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood can be found at: http://www.webpages.ttu.edu/areifman/IDEA_instrument.htm.

  4. Typically, values larger than 0.7 denote acceptable (up to 0.8), good (0.8–0.9) or excellent (>0.9) internal validity. Values <0.7 show questionable (0.6–0.7), poor (0.5–0.6) or unacceptable internal (<0.5) validity.

  5. All percentages reported here are computed for those who responded to each question.

  6. Factor loadings are correlations between item and factor. Commonly, in research correlations larger than 0.4 are considered strong. We used this criterion for deciding which items to keep in the questionnaire.

  7. Reifman et al (2007) in their paper describing the psychometric properties of the IDEA admitted that fewer than five factors could have also fitted the data well, but they favoured the five-factor solution, since it was consistent with the original conceptualization of the emerging adulthood dimensions.

  8. These endorsement levels are computed by combining the percentages for “agree” and strongly agree” responses.

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Acknowledgments

Part of this paper (data collection and input) is based on the work of Dimoudi, A., Zahou, M., Katsanou, F., and Tsoubri, A., who completed their graduate dissertations under the supervision of the first author at the University of Ioannina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, 451 10, Ioannina, Greece

    Sophie Leontopoulou & Dimitris Mavridis

  2. Department of Pre-School Education, University of Ioannina, 451 10, Ioannina, Greece

    Artemis Giotsa

Authors
  1. Sophie Leontopoulou
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  2. Dimitris Mavridis
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  3. Artemis Giotsa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sophie Leontopoulou.

Appendix

Appendix

Items for the three dimensions of the IDEA in Greek

(Ερωτήσεις των τριών υποκλιμάκων της τελικής ελληνικής έκδοσης του IDEA)

.

ΥΠΟΚΛΙΜΑΚΕΣ

1. Εξερεύνηση ταυτότητας – Αίσθημα του «ενδιάμεσου»

2. Πειραματισμός/Δυνατότητες –

Εστίαση στον εαυτό

3. Αρνητισμός/Αστάθεια

Διανύεις μία περίοδο…

Διανύεις μία περίοδο…

Διανύεις μία περίοδο…

12. ανακάλυψης του ποιος/ποια είσαι;

1. πολλών δυνατοτήτων και ευκαιριών;

3. σύγχυσης;

23. αποχωρισμού από τους γονείς;

2. εξερεύνησης;

8. έντονου άγχους;

24. αυτοπροσδιορισμού;

5. προσωπικής ελευθερίας;

9. αστάθειας;

26. αναζήτησης κάποιου νοήματος;

10. αισιοδοξίας;

11. έντονης πίεσης;

27. αποφάσεων για τις πεποιθήσεις και τις αξίες σoυ;

15. ανεξαρτησίας;

20. πολλών ανησυχιών;

28. που μαθαίνεις να σκέφτεσαι για τον εαυτό σου;

16. ανοικτών επιλογών;

 

29. που αισθάνεσαι ενήλικος μερικές φορές αλλά όχι πάντοτε;

  

30. σταδιακής μετάβασης στην ενήλικη ζωή;

  

31. που δεν είσαι βέβαιος/βέβαιη αν έχεις γίνει πλήρως ενήλικος;

  

Βιβλιογραφικές αναφορές:

Reifman, A., Arnett, J. J., & Colwell, M. J. (2007, Summer). Emerging Adulthood: Theory, assessment and application. Journal of Youth Development, 2(1).

Γαλανάκη, Ε. (2012). Αναδυόμενη ενηλικίωση και γνωσιακές συμπεριφοριστικές προσεγγίσεις: Προκλήσεις και ευκαιρίες για την ψυχική υγεία των νέων ανθρώπων. Στο Μ. Ζαφειροπούλου (Επιμ. Έκδ.), Δυνατότητες και δυσκολίες του παιδιού και του εφήβου: Γνωσιακές-Συμπεριφοριστικές προσεγγίσεις (σελ. 33–54). Αθήνα: Πεδίο.

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Leontopoulou, S., Mavridis, D. & Giotsa, A. Psychometric Properties of the Greek Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA): University Student Perceptions of Developmental Features. J Adult Dev 23, 226–244 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-016-9239-4

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