Abstract
The article is devoted to a theoretical and empirical analysis of the psychological features of personality identity structure under conditions of social instability and increasing uncertainty. Despite a substantial body of research on identity, a research gap remains in contemporary psychology regarding a holistic understanding of its structural organization as a dynamic system integrating cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components in the context of rapid social transformations. In particular, the mechanisms of coordination among these components and their role in ensuring psychological adaptation remain insufficiently explored.
The aim of the study is to identify the structural characteristics of identity and determine their relationship with psychological resources of the individual. A комплекс of psychodiagnostic methods and statistical analysis techniques was employed to empirically investigate the internal organization of identity and its functional relationships. The sample was formed taking into account the conditions of a modern social environment characterized by a high level of uncertainty.
The scientific novelty of the study lies in conceptualizing identity structure as an integrative, hierarchically organized, and dynamic system, in which coherence between components serves as a key predictor of psychological well-being. It was empirically demonstrated that a high level of integration of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of identity is associated with increased adaptability and internal stability of the individual, whereas their inconsistency correlates with internal conflicts and reduced psychological resilience.
The findings expand theoretical perspectives on identity as a processual and context-dependent construct shaped by both internal (reflectivity, self-awareness, value-meaning sphere) and external (social environment, cultural factors) determinants. Theoretical implications include a deeper understanding of identity integration mechanisms, while practical implications relate to the development of psychological interventions aimed at harmonizing identity structure, enhancing adaptive capacity, and preventing personality disintegration under conditions of social crises.
Date of receipt of the article: December 4, 2025
Date of recommendation for publication: January 15, 2026
Date of publication: January 30, 2026
References
A Study in the Process of Individuation. (2014). In R. F. C. Hull (Ed.), Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 9 (Part 1): Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (pp. 290–354). Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850969.290
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.5.469
Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. Oxford University Press.
Branje, S., de Moor, E. L., Spitzer, J., & Becht, A. I. (2021). Dynamics of Identity Development in Adolescence: A Decade in Review. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31(4), 908–927. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12678
Burns, R. B. (1982). Self-concept development and education. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Chacón-Cuberos, R., Serrano-García, J., Serrano-García, I., & Castro-Sánchez, M. (2025). Self-Concept Modulates Motivation and Learning Strategies in Higher Education: Comparison According to Sex. Education Sciences, 15(7), 873. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15070873
Chykur, L. (2023). Formuvannia natsionalnoi identychnosti studentiv v umovakh povnomasshtabnoi viiny. Naukovyi chasopys Ukrainskoho derzhavnoho universytetu imeni Mykhaila Drahomanova, 22(67), 90–103. https://doi.org/10.31392/UDU-nc.series12.2023.22(67).09
Crocetti, E., Sica, L. S., Schwartz, S. J., Serafini, T., & Meeus, W. (2013). Identity styles, dimensions, statuses, and functions: Making connections among identity conceptualizations. European Review of Applied Psychology, 63(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erap.2012.09.001
Denche-Zamorano, A., Mayordomo-Pinilla, N., Galán-Arroyo, C., Mañanas-Iglesias, C., Adsuar, J. C., & Rojo-Ramos, J. (2023). Differences in Self-Concept and Its Dimensions in Students of the Third Cycle of Primary School, Obligatory Secondary Education, and Baccalaureate. Healthcare, 11(7), 987. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11070987
Diak, V., Tushko, K., & Volobuiev, V. (2024). Osoblyvosti formuvannia mnozhynnoi identychnosti v umovakh rosiisko-ukrainskoi viiny. Naukovo-teoretychnyi almanakh Hrani. 27(2), 12–18. https://doi.org/10.15421/172424
Dikhtiarenko, S., & Remeniuk, Y. (2024). Sotsialno-psykholohichna kharakterystyka studentstva. Psykholohichnyi zhurnal. (12), 36–45. https://doi.org/10.31499/2617-2100.12.2024.306769
Emanuel, L., Neil, G. J., Bevan, C., Fraser, D. S., Stevenage, S. V., Whitty, M. T., & Jamison-Powell, S. (2014). Who am I? Representing the self offline and in different online contexts. Computers in Human Behavior, 41, 146–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.018
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity, youth, and crisis. W. W. Norton & Company
Garcia-Arch, J., Sabio-Albert, M., Korn, C. W., & Fuentemilla, L. (2025). How the self-concept structures social role learning: insights from computational models. Royal Society Open Science, 12(9). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250590
García-Martínez, I., Augusto-Landa, J. M., Quijano-López, R., & León, S. P. (2022). Self-Concept as a Mediator of the Relation Between University Students’ Resilience and Academic Achievement. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.747168
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1999). The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203793206
Griffo, R., Lemay, E., & Moreno, A. H. (2021). Who Am I? Let Me Think: Assessing the Considered Self-Concept. Sage Open, 11(1), https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211004278
Ismailova, G. M., Menlibekova, G. Z., Berikkhanova, G. Y., Kulmysheva, N. A., & Zhakiyanova, Z. G. (2019). Basics of the professional position of future teachers-psychologists. Revista Espacios, 40(44), 17.
Jankowiak, B., Soroko, E., Kuryś-Szyncel, K., Jaskulska, S., Hill, C. T., Sawaumi, T., Sanz-Barbero, B., Vives-Cases, C., Neves, S., Inagaki, T., Lee, J., & Watanabe, Y. (2025). Building Bridges Between Arnett’s and Havighurst’s Theories: New Developmental Tasks in Emerging Adulthood Across Six Countries. Emerging Adulthood, 13(3), 503–518. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968251322822
Jhangiani, R., & Tarry, H. (2022). Principles of social psychology (1st international ed.). BCcampus.
Kuhn, M. H. (1960). Self-Attitudes by Age, Sex, and Professional Training. The Sociological Quarterly, 1(1), 39–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1960.tb01459.x
Kuhn, M. H., & McPartland, T. S. (1954). An Empirical Investigation of Self-Attitudes. American Sociological Review, 19(1), 68-76. https://doi.org/10.2307/2088175
Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977). The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159-174. https://doi.org/10.2307/2529310
Lee, S.-S., Kim, J., Yu, S. W., & Li, N. (2025). College students’ identity differences in offline and online learning environment and their effects on achievement motivation. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05891-9
Marais, K., & Naudé, L. (2024). Identity in university students: The semiotic work of making sense of yourself. Culture & Psychology, 31(3), 849–866. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067x241242413
Meeus, W., van de Schoot, R., Keijsers, L., & Branje, S. (2011). Identity Statuses as Developmental Trajectories: A Five-Wave Longitudinal Study in Early-to-Middle and Middle-to-Late Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(8), 1008–1021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9730-y
Ostrova, V. (2025). Aktualna identychnist suchasnoi studentskoi molodi. Vcheni zapysky Universytetu «KROK», 3 (79), 445–450. https://doi.org/10.31732/2663-2209-2025-79-445-450
Pach, J., Stoffels, M., Schoonmade, L., van Ingen, E., & Kusurkar, R. A. (2025). The impact of educational activities on professional identity formation in social sciences and humanities: a scoping review. Educational Research Review, 48, 100704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2025.100704
Pevelko, I. (2022). Research of identity in students that receive second higher education. Psychology and Personality, (1), 176–197. https://doi.org/10.33989/2226-4078.2022.1.252066
Platow, M. J., Lee, G. C., Wang, C., Grace, D. M., Knezovic, M., Smyth, L., & Mavor, K. I. (2025). The role of student and customer social identification on university students’ learning approaches and psychological well-being. Social Psychology of Education, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-025-10060-6
Podkorytova, L., & Zorina, K. (2023). Empirychne doslidzhennia shendernykh osoblyvostei samospryiniattia studentskoi molodi. Psykholohichni travelohy. (4), 221–229. Https://Doi.Org/10.31891/Pt-2023-4-23
Qiu, P., Wang, H., Wang, H., Miao, L., & Song, J. (2025). The relationship between college students’ self-identity and future orientation: a moderated chain-mediating model. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1461159
Sabando-García, A. R., Jiménez-Bustillo, O. J., Llacsa-Puma, L. J., Castro-Castillo, G. J., Moreira-Choez, J. S., & Rengifo-Lozano, R. A. (2025). Measurement through structural equations of the self-concept instrument in high-school students. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1507106
Schwartz, S. J. (2001). The evolution of Eriksonian and neo-Eriksonian identity theory and research: A review and integration. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 1(1), 7–58. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532706xschwartz
Schwartz, S. J., Beyers, W., Luyckx, K., Soenens, B., Zamboanga, B. L., Forthun, L. F., Hardy, S. A., Vazsonyi, A. T., Ham, L. S., Kim, S. Y., Whitbourne, S. K., & Waterman, A. S. (2010). Examining the Light and Dark Sides of Emerging Adults’ Identity: A Study of Identity Status Differences in Positive and Negative Psychosocial Functioning. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(7), 839–859. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9606-6
Shvalb, Y. M., & Vernik, O. L. (2025). Dynamika stratehii zhyttiediyalnosti v umovakh viiny. Herald of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, 7(2), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.37472/v.naes.2025.7218
Tokareva, N. M., & Shamne, A. V. (2017). Vikova i pedahohichna psykholohiia.
van de Wall, M. L. E. (2023). Gender differences in emerging adults’ identity content. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.
Verschueren, M., Rassart, J., Claes, L., Moons, P., & Luyckx, K. (2017). Identity Statuses throughout Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Large-Scale Study into Gender, Age, and Contextual Differences. Psychologica Belgica, 57(1), 32–42. https://doi.org/10.5334/pb.348
Vygotsky, L. S. (1984). Sobranie sochinenii v shesti tomakh: T. 6. Nauchnoe nasledstvo (M. G. Yaroshevskii, Ed.). Pedagogika.
Vynar, V. (2022). Development of youth identity and i-concept. The Modern Higher Education Review, 7, 48–63. https://doi.org/10.28925/2518-7635.2022.74
Wood, D., Crapnell, T., Lau, L., Bennett, A., Lotstein, D., Ferris, M., & Kuo, A. (2017). Emerging Adulthood as a Critical Stage in the Life Course. In Handbook of Life Course Health Development (pp. 123–143). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47143-3_7
Żyłkiewicz-Płońska, E., & Coimbra, S. (2024). Who am I? Sense of identity of Portuguese university students in a socio-ecological perspective. Kultura-Społeczeństwo-Edukacja, 26(2), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.14746/kse.2024.26.2.6

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yurii Dudnyk
