A cross-national study of identity statuses in Dutch and Italian adolescents: Status distributions and correlates.

The purpose of this study was to examine identity formation in large community samples of Italian (N = 1,975) and Dutch (N = 1,521) adolescents. Findings indicated that participants’ distribution across five previously extracted identity statuses (i.e., achievement, early closure, moratorium, searching moratorium, and diffusion) was clearly different, with Italian participants more represented in the moratorium statuses, and with Dutch adolescents more likely to be in the early closure and diffusion statuses. Furthermore, the profile of the searching moratorium status, in terms of personality characteristics, internalizing problem behavior, and parent-adolescent relationships, was found to be more adaptive in the Italian context. These findings are discussed in light of cultural differences between Italy and the Netherlands.