This longitudinal study examined changes of relatedness levels in identity exploration and identified the factors associated with changes in relatedness levels among female adolescents. The expanded Ego Identity Interview, which covered four domains of occupation, friendships, dating, and sex roles, was administered to female university students (N=31) three times : the first semester as juniors and seniors, and the final semester as seniors. Significant progression to the higher relatedness level was observed in three domains, but sex roles levels changed slightly more often to the lower level than to the higher level. The main factors that precipitated changes were "job seeking/career decision", which was the most common predictor of the movement to both higher and lower levels, and "changes in relationships with friends/dates", which was remarkably found in the movement to the higher level. The results supported the recent tendency in theory to emphasize relational aspects of identity, and provided evidence that identity formation is indeed associated with relatedness.
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