PSYCHOLOGICAL MATURITY IN EARLY ADULTHOOD - RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SOCIAL-DEVELOPMENT AND IDENTITY

The relationship between social development and a sense of personal id entity in early adulthood was explored. Information was gathered by st ructured interviews with randomly selected older students (N = 111, av erage age 24.1 years). Cluster analysis showed that 9.1% of the sample was very socially isolated but not dissatisfied with that, 28.3% had few social relationships but were very committed to the student identi ty, and 20.2% seemed to have achieved both intimacy in social relation ships and a sense of identity. The relationships between the two attri butes of intimate social relationships and personal identity, which ar e often described as criteria for psychological maturity in early adul thood, are variable. Longitudinal studies and nonstudent samples are b oth essential for further research.