Processes and Contents : An Intensive Longitudinal Mixed-Methods Approach for Capturing Everyday Identity Formation

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Understanding identity requires capturing not only how strongly individuals endorse aspects of their identity but also what those mean and how they are expressed in everyday contexts. To address this methodological challenge, we introduce an intensive longitudinal mixed-methods design integrating daily quantifiable and qualifiable identity elements. We illustrate the design within research on civic identity. German adolescents and young adults (N = 135; Mage = 21.23 years) completed an online baseline survey and 14 days of daily assessments. Daily surveys included an open-ended narrative prompt for assessing qualifiable elements (e.g., behaviors, contents) and closed items on identity processes to assess quantifiable elements (i.e., commitment, exploration, reconsideration). Open-ended daily narratives were deductive–inductively content coded. Bayesian multilevel models examined within- and between-person associations between daily quantifiable and qualifiable elements. Participants’ civic-identity content was heterogeneous and often centered on discussions or conversations and apolitical behavior. On days with higher commitment or exploration, participants were more likely reported identity-relevant experiences as well as more diverse behaviors; reconsideration was unrelated. While the design can be used to examine which contents and behaviors instantiate identity processes in everyday life, it also provides a starting point for redefining domain-specific daily measures by combining qualitative and quantitative assessment.

Consider a young person who engages in political issues on social media, seeks political discussions with friends, and maybe starts volunteering in a nonprofit association. What drives these everyday choices, and how do they shape a lasting sense of identity over time? Answering such questions requires a comprehensive understanding of identity – one that captures not only to what aspects of their life people are committed to, but also how these commitments are shaped, what they mean to them and, as a result, how these commitments are expressed in daily behavior. Identity is widely regarded as a multifaceted and dynamic construct, encompassing various commitments to relevant aspects of one’s life (i.e., contents: “What is typical for me?”) that guide behavior. Together, identity content, the strength of commitment to that content, and behavioral expression constitute identity, shaping daily dynamics within one’s social context and thereby influencing long-term development (van der Gaag et al., Citation2020).

Despite broad acknowledgment of this complexity, most research has examined only single identity elements. Quantifiable dimensions such as commitment and exploration (e.g., Crocetti et al., Citation2008; Luyckx et al., Citation2006) have been studied extensively, while the quality of these dimensions – the contents of commitments – and their behavioral expressions with their reciprocal everyday dynamics remain underexplored (Branje, Citation2022). One reason for these gaps may be the methodological challenge of assessing multiple identity elements at an everyday level. In this paper, we address this challenge by introducing an intensive longitudinal mixed-methods design, demonstrating its implementation and analytical opportunities through empirical data on civic identity, with the goal of providing a working example for more integrative identity research.