Browsing by Author "Mitchell, Lauren"
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Item Applicability of Emerging Adulthood Theory to Ethnically and Educationally Diverse Young Adults(2015-05) Mitchell, LaurenEmerging adulthood (EA) theory proposes that youth are increasingly postponing adult role transitions such as marriage, parenthood, and committing to long-term careers, and instead experiencing age 18-30 as a time of instability, open possibilities, and identity exploration (Arnett, 2004). However, critics suggest that EA theory applies only to White, college-educated youth (e.g., Hendry & Kloep, 2007; Arnett et al., 2011). The present study addresses this critique by comparing White, college-educated young adults to youth from other racial/ethnic and educational groups. Using data from the Add Health national sample, we compare these groups on outcomes relevant to EA theory: employment, career acquisition, marriage, desire for marriage, and parenthood. Findings suggest that White college graduates youth generally fit Arnett's (2004) description of emerging adulthood, but White youth with only some college experience do not fit the EA pattern well. Furthermore, youth with no college experience frequently diverged from the EA pattern as well. Many groups seemed like emerging adults in some domains but not others. Implications for EA theory and the study of non-students are discussed.Item Caregiver Responses to Remote Activity Monitor Alerts of Persons with Dementia(2019) Zmora, Rachel; Finlay, Jessica; Bustamante, Gabriela; Mitchell, Lauren; Nkimbeng, Manka; Gaugler, Joseph E.Item Investigating Identity and Social Support Among Veterans Transitioning to Civilian Life: A Mixed Methods Study(2018-05) Mitchell, LaurenEriksonian perspectives on identity development assert that identity integration, or a sense of coherence and continuity of the self, is a fundamental prerequisite for psychological well-being (Erikson, 1968; Syed & McLean, 2016; van Hoof & Raaijmakers, 2003). However, the overwhelming majority of research and theory on identity integration focuses only on adolescents and young adults under age 30 (e.g., Crocetti, Beyers, & Cok, 2016; Marcia, 1966; Schwartz et al., 2015; Sedikides, Wildschut, & Grouzet, 2018). Research on identity development in adulthood is lacking, and relatively little is known about how identity adjusts to changes later in life. The purpose of the present study was to investigate identity disruption as a construct for conceptualizing identity change in adulthood, by a) describing and operationalizing identity disruption, b) examining its relations with psychosocial outcomes relevant to veterans’ adjustment, and c) determining whether any associations between identity disruption and outcomes of interest persist when controlling for participants’ expressed mental-health concerns and context changes. Taking a mixed-methods approach, I used data from an expressive writing intervention conducted with veterans reintegrating back into civilian life. At baseline, three months, and six months after enrolling in the study, 244 veterans completed measures of social support, PTSD symptom severity, satisfaction with life, and reintegration difficulty. They also responded to an open-ended expressive writing prompt four times within the ten days following their baseline measurement. The qualitative data were coded using thematic analysis methods (Braun & Clarke, 2006), and codes were used to generate quantitative variables capturing identity disruption, context change and continuity, and expressed mental health concerns, among other variables. These variables were then used as predictors in latent growth curve models to test for differences in social support and mental-health trajectories for individuals who reported identity disruption versus those did not. Qualitative analysis revealed four types of identity disruption: feelings of loss of meaning and purpose; disconnection between one’s past, present, and future selves; role dysfunction; and loss of self-worth. Veterans reporting identity disruption were younger on average (M = 37.31) than those not reporting identity disruption (M = 40.24). Quantitative analyses did not support the hypothesis that identity disruption would result in poorer social support and mental-health outcomes. Rather, positive and negative context changes, positive context continuity, and expressed mental-health concerns were significantly associated with mental-health outcomes and social-support trajectories. Post-hoc analyses suggested that identity disruption was significantly associated with “lack of structure,” a dimension of context change capturing broad cultural differences related to a lack of structure and predictability in civilian compared to military life. Recommendations for future research on the construct of identity disruption are discussed, including recommendations to develop a reliable quantitative measure of identity disruption, and to design studies that measure identity disruption before, during, and after the disruptive event in order to test the causal relations among life events, identity disruption, and psychosocial outcomes.