Citation

Scott BG, Sanders AF, Graham RA, Banks DM, Russell JD, Berman SL, Weems CF. Identity (Mahwah, N J) 2014; 14(4): 255-267.

Affiliation

University of New Orleans.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15283488.2014.944697

PMID

25505851

Abstract

Identity distress involves intense or prolonged upset or worry about personal identity issues including long-term goals, career choice, friendships, sexual orientation and behavior, religion, values and beliefs, and group loyalties. Research suggests that trauma exposure and subsequent PTSD symptoms may negatively impact identity development and psychological adjustment. However, little is known about their specific associations with identity distress and internalizing problems among disaster-exposed adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine these relationships in a sample of 325 adolescents (60% female; 89% African American) who experienced a major natural disaster and its aftermath. The results indicated that identity distress was positively associated with age, hurricane exposure, PTSD symptoms, and internalizing problems. Linear regression analyses also showed that identity distress was uniquely associated with internalizing symptoms and that there was an indirect effect of hurricane exposure on identity distress via PTSD symptoms. Finally, PTSD symptoms moderated the link between identity distress and internalizing symptoms, with a significant positive slope found for youth with more PTSD symptoms.

FINDINGS were generally consistent with previous work and predictions, and add to the extant knowledge about identity distress by providing data on the linkages between disaster exposure, posttraumatic stress and internalizing problems in adolescents.

Language: en