Relationship between Ego-identity and Attachment Style in Adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To determine the relationship between the sense of ego-identity in adolescence and attachment styles, which is considered one of the factors associated with mental health.

Methods: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted targeting students aged 18 to 22 using the Multidimensional Ego Identity Scale (Multidimensional Ego Identity Scale ; MEIS) and the attachment style scale for general others (the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory-the-Generalized-Other-version ; ECR-GO). A total of 648 participants were analyzed (valid response rate: 87.9％).

Results: The analysis included 232 men and 416 women, with an average age of 18.96±0.96 years. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that all subscales and the total score of MEIS were associated with ECR-GO “abandonment anxiety” and “avoidance of intimacy”. “Abandonment anxiety” was most strongly related to “self-unity/continuity” (β＝－.521, p＜.001), “self-identity” (β＝－.355, p＜.001), “psychosocial identity” (β＝－.452, p＜.001), and ‘total MEIS score’ (β＝－.502, p＜.001). ‘Avoidance of intimacy’ was most strongly related to ‘other-identity’ (β＝－.376, p＜.001).

Considerations: It was shown that focusing on attachment styles, such as negative views of self and others, may be important to support the establishment of ego-identity.