The Importance of Identity Style for the Level of Religiosity in Different Developmental Periods

Identity is built in the context of an individual’s professed values, moral principles, and often, religiosity. Adolescence and emerging and early adulthood are times of intensive identity construction and of changes in religious attitudes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterise people...

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Main Authors: Ewa Gurba, Dorota Czyżowska, Ewa Topolewska-Siedzik, Jan Cieciuch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-02-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/2/157
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author Ewa Gurba
Dorota Czyżowska
Ewa Topolewska-Siedzik
Jan Cieciuch
author_facet Ewa Gurba
Dorota Czyżowska
Ewa Topolewska-Siedzik
Jan Cieciuch
author_sort Ewa Gurba
collection DOAJ
description Identity is built in the context of an individual’s professed values, moral principles, and often, religiosity. Adolescence and emerging and early adulthood are times of intensive identity construction and of changes in religious attitudes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterise people across these three developmental periods in terms of the level of their identity and religiosity, and to examine whether particular identity styles allow for the prediction of the overall level of religiosity. For this purpose, the whole sample of <i>N =</i> 1017 individuals and particularly from adolescence (<i>n</i> = 307), emerging adulthood (<i>n</i> = 410), and early adulthood (<i>n</i> = 302) were studied. The results showed a lower level of the informational style and a higher level of the diffuse-avoidant style in adolescence as compared with the two older groups, who did not differ from each other. The overall level of religiosity did not significantly differentiate the developmental groups; however, it was explained by identity formation styles in different ways at particular developmental stages. Results of moderation analyses suggest that the informational style has positive effect only in adolescence; the normative style has positive effects in each age group but is strongest in early adulthood, and the diffuse-avoidant style presents negative effect in adolescence.
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spelling doaj.art-7e493b96c4ae4253b5c1fe94ea0fc0402023-11-23T21:52:01ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-02-0113215710.3390/rel13020157The Importance of Identity Style for the Level of Religiosity in Different Developmental PeriodsEwa Gurba0Dorota Czyżowska1Ewa Topolewska-Siedzik2Jan Cieciuch3Department of Philosophy, The Pontifical University of John Paul II, 31-002 Krakow, PolandInstitute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, 31-007 Krakow, PolandInstitute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, 01-815 Warszawa, PolandInstitute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, 01-815 Warszawa, PolandIdentity is built in the context of an individual’s professed values, moral principles, and often, religiosity. Adolescence and emerging and early adulthood are times of intensive identity construction and of changes in religious attitudes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterise people across these three developmental periods in terms of the level of their identity and religiosity, and to examine whether particular identity styles allow for the prediction of the overall level of religiosity. For this purpose, the whole sample of <i>N =</i> 1017 individuals and particularly from adolescence (<i>n</i> = 307), emerging adulthood (<i>n</i> = 410), and early adulthood (<i>n</i> = 302) were studied. The results showed a lower level of the informational style and a higher level of the diffuse-avoidant style in adolescence as compared with the two older groups, who did not differ from each other. The overall level of religiosity did not significantly differentiate the developmental groups; however, it was explained by identity formation styles in different ways at particular developmental stages. Results of moderation analyses suggest that the informational style has positive effect only in adolescence; the normative style has positive effects in each age group but is strongest in early adulthood, and the diffuse-avoidant style presents negative effect in adolescence.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/2/157adolescenceemerging adulthoodearly adulthoodidentityreligiosity
spellingShingle Ewa Gurba
Dorota Czyżowska
Ewa Topolewska-Siedzik
Jan Cieciuch
The Importance of Identity Style for the Level of Religiosity in Different Developmental Periods
Religions
adolescence
emerging adulthood
early adulthood
identity
religiosity
title The Importance of Identity Style for the Level of Religiosity in Different Developmental Periods
title_full The Importance of Identity Style for the Level of Religiosity in Different Developmental Periods
title_fullStr The Importance of Identity Style for the Level of Religiosity in Different Developmental Periods
title_full_unstemmed The Importance of Identity Style for the Level of Religiosity in Different Developmental Periods
title_short The Importance of Identity Style for the Level of Religiosity in Different Developmental Periods
title_sort importance of identity style for the level of religiosity in different developmental periods
topic adolescence
emerging adulthood
early adulthood
identity
religiosity
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/2/157
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