Investigating the Relationship between Identity Status and Anxiety

 This research was designed to investigate the relationship between identity status and anxiety. For this purpose, state and trait anxiety mean scores of four different identity status (achievement, moratorium, foreclosure and diffusion) were compared. In a further analysis, a part of sample consisting of individuals who had pathological anxiety were selected Moreover, the frequency of the four identity status in this sub-sample were calculated. The sample consisted of 78 female and 60 male undergraduate students who completed two tests: Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status [2nd version of (EOM-EIS 2)] and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory- Form Y (STAI-Y). The anxiety scores were compared using ANOVA, and the frequencies were compared through chi-square. The results indicated that individuals with no commitment (i.e. moratorium and diffusion) in both ideological and interpersonal dimensions had significantly higher levels of state and trait anxiety. Moreover, in the individuals with pathological anxiety, the frequencies of non-commitments were significantly more than the commitments. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that a pre-developed identity in the process of identity formation (i.e. identity crisis) results in anxiety and insecurity. Thus, commitment to the identity, whether a mature commitment such as achievement, or an immature commitment such as foreclosure, develops a sense of security in these individuals and suppresses their anxieties.