BRIEF REPORT - RELATIVISM AND IDENTITY CRISIS IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD

This study investigated the relationship between epistemological world views and identity formation. Forty college students, aged 17 to 23 y ears, were presented with a paradigm belief scale (Social Paradigm Bel ief Inventory; SPBI), an identity status questionnaire, and an in-dept h interview about a conflict they had recently experienced. It was hyp othesized that a relativistic world view would be related to a morator ium identity status because relativistic thought processes involve a q uestioning of the objectivity of knowledge and authority structures an d hence an awareness of the variety of alternative and potentially con flicting roles and choices. Results indicated that relativism was the most common world view used when responding to questions about a perso nal conflict and that relativistic scores on the SPBI were predictive of the moratorium status. Relativistic scores on the SPBI were also ne gatively related to identity achievement, as were mechanistic scores. Females experienced moratorium to a greater extent than males but were not more relativistic. Results are discussed in terms of linkages amo ng cognitive development, psychosocial development, gender, and the ty pe of measures used to assess world view status.