Relationship Between the Big Five and Identity Coherence/Confusion
Research partners with Gail Fraser
Identity coherence, identity confusion, and certain personality traits have been shown to positively and negatively correlate with adaptive psychosocial functions. Limited research, however, has explored the integration of identity into the three-level model of personality. We hypothesized that a relationship exists between these personality traits and identity confusion/coherence, and that the correlations with identity coherence would be the inverse of correlations of identity confusion. Participants (N = 1257) were administered the Big Five Aspect Scales to measure Big Five domains and aspects, and the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory identity sub-scales were used to measure identity coherence and confusion. Data was analyzed by calculating zero-order correlations between each Big Five domain/aspect with identity coherence/confusion scores. Partial correlations were also calculated between these variables, controlling for age, gender, sexual orientation, race, and social class. Results showed identity coherence to have strong positive correlations between all Big Five domains and aspects with the exception of Neuroticism and its corresponding aspects, with which identity coherence strongly negatively correlated. Conversely, identity confusion was found to be strongly negatively correlated with all domains/aspects with the exception of Neuroticism and its aspects, with which it was strongly positively correlated. In conclusion, results supported our hypotheses, demonstrating that there are significant associations between personality traits and identity coherence/confusion, with Neuroticism being the strongest predictor of identity confusion. These findings contribute to the integration of identity and personality literature and help contextualize identity coherence and confusion within the Big Five framework.
