The relationship between identity formation and religious/spiritual commitment has been connected theoretically since Erikson's work in the mid-20th century. Specific relationships within the constructs, such as spiritual maturity through identity exploration, have not been researched thoroughly. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between identity and faith formation processes in college students (N = 285) from a large public university in the southeast. Participants were self-identified Christians within the approximate age group known as emerging adulthood (i.e., 18-25), and completed questionnaire packets with measures of identity style, religious ego-identity status, faith maturity- commitment/integration, faith maturity-exploration, and strength of faith. Mature identity formation processes were highly associated with faith maturity-commitment/integration, moderately associated with questioning beliefs within faith maturity-exploration. Informational identity style exhibited predictive value for both outcome measures of faith maturity. Those practicing and representing mature identity processes are more likely to integrate their faith into their relationships. Construct validity concerns regarding the measure of faith maturity-exploration (i.e., Quest Scale) are discussed. Significant relationships concerning outside crisis, sex, and denomination affiliation with faith maturity measures emerged. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring, 2012. / March 20, 2012. / Christian, development, faith, identity, maturity, spiritual / Includes bibliographical references. / Ronald L. Mullis, Professor Directing Thesis; Ming Cui, Committee Member; Roy Baumeister, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_182983 |
| Contributors | Long, Jayce (authoraut), Mullis, Ronald L. (professor directing thesis), Cui, Ming (committee member), Baumeister, Roy (committee member), Department of Family and Child Sciences (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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