UC Berkeley

The development of personal and social identity have been studied mostly in parallel, leaving a gap in how young people explore who they are as simultaneously an individual and social being. An exploratory convergent mixed-methods design involving latent profile analyses and content analysis was used to examine personal, racial, sexual orientation, and gender identity exploration engagement and identity content among 598 White, heterosexual, cisgender young adults in the U.S. (ages 18 to 25, Mage = 22.0, SDage = 2.2, 298 men). Reports of identity exploration across social and personal domains were not associated, but the meaning of social identity was related to personal identity in ways that suggest active exploration of social identities could be tied to personal identity. Women were more actively exploring gender and sexual orientation identities. Future research should shed light on the complex interplay between social and personal identity development in various social contexts.