A Longitudinal Study of the Relationship between Identity Development Processes and Self-Esteem among Korean College Freshmen

Self-esteem may serve both as a psychological resource that facilitates personal identity development processes and as an outcome of a consolidated identity. However, longitudinal evidence remains limited. This study tracked 641 South Korean first-year college students (48.0% women; M_age = 19.13) across four waves spaced three months apart during their first academic year to test bidirectional links between Luyckx et al.’s (2008) five dimensions of personal identity processes (exploration in breadth, exploration in depth, commitment making, identification with commitment, ruminative exploration) and self-esteem. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were used to examine how changes in each of the processes may follow and be followed by changes in self-esteem. Results highlight initial volatility and gradually increasing engagement in personal identity development processes. Higher self-esteem predicted greater engagement in identity processes, and a stronger sense of identification with commitment predicted higher self-esteem later in the year but not earlier. By demonstrating that self-esteem is not merely an outcome of identity development but also a psychological resource facilitating identity development, these findings contribute to the literature on the development of the self-system in youth.