Verschueren, M., (2020). Identity and psychopathology: Bridging developmental and clinical research. Flashcards
the process of identity formation aims to answer this question:
who am i and where am i heading in life?
formule voor succesful identity development
synthesis > confusion
identity synthesis=
self-continuity over time, develop a stable set of goals, plans and beliefs
identity confusion=
fragmented sense of self, limited self-directed decision making. struggle to find purpose and direction in life
2 behavioural indicators of identity structure (Maria)
- exploration (experimenting with identity alternatives)
- commitment (adhering to a set of identity-defining goals and values)
four statuses of identity structure (Maria)
- achievement (individuals with strong commitments following a period of exploration)
- foreclosure (individuals having enacted commitments without previous exploration)
- moratorium (individuals who are still exploring and have not enacted strong commitments yet)
- diffusion (individuals who are not proactively exploring and do not have strong guiding commitments)
Luyckx et al: two cycles
- identity formation: individuals explore alternatives and make commitments (exploration in breadth and commitment making)
- identity evaluation: individuals re-evaluate their identity choices (exploration in depth and identification with commitment (= the degree to which these commitments become integrated to the individuals sense of self)
ruminative exploration=
Ruminative exploration was added as a fifth process that hinders identity development. As individuals scoring high on ruminative exploration are partially troubled by what they perceive as inadequate progress toward personally important goals, they experience difficulty settling on satisfying choices and keep asking themselves the same questions.
Uncertainty and incompetence are key factors
moratorium is associated with
distress, low self worth, ruminative exploration.
An extended moratorium phase may denote a type of arrested development, blocking individuals from forming commitments and progressing to achievement
onset of EDs
between 15-19, but across development patients may experience diagnostic shifts. often from more restrictive ED diagnoses to binge-eating/puring types over time
prevalence of disturbed eating behaviours that do not meet diagnostic criteria
(e.g., fasting, taking diet pills or laxatives, vomiting, binge-eating), are highly prevalent in adolescents: approximately 57% for girls and 30% for boys
what are the life periods in which ED risk is higher representing
- bodily changes
- great concern with social acceptance
-> vulnerable to internalizing beauty standards
hoe komen identity styles overeen met lichaamsidealen
- people who have active and critical attitudes toward identity-relevant information -> distance themselves from the body perfect ideal
- people who are vulnerable to socially expected goals and values -> internalize the body perfect ideal
patients with an ED experience far greater difficulties in forming a personal identity than community individuals do
oke
patients with an ED experience more trouble in making identity-related choices and proactively exploring identity issues and that some patients seem to experience an identity disorder that is associated with maladaptive functioning.
oke
relatie tussen identity disruption en EDs
A disrupted identity may motivate adolescents to search for a (maladaptive) source of self-definition, which is often found in the controllable and culturally valued aspect of body weight. Hence, restrictive eating may represent a (subconscious) quest for a stronger sense of self and individuation.
But eating symptomatology may not only arise from identity problems, but it could also play into one’s identity development and even derail normal identity development. Corning and Heibel (2016) note that most individuals with disturbed eating behaviors are preoccupied with their body weight and shape, with body weight representing a disproportionate share of their identity.
This system would lead patients with an ED to evaluate themselves almost entirely in terms of their eating habits and body shape, while alternative sources of self-worth are lacking. Hence, when these self-aspects are under attack (e.g., by weight teasing or social comparison), they may be experienced as direct threats to the self that in turn motivate patients to adhere even more to strict dieting rules.
hoe werkt purging
When ED patients are confronted with a threat to their self-image, anxious and nervous feelings emerge, which in turn drive them toward binge eating as well. During a binge, the collapse of bodily regulation may represent a collapse of one’s self-definition as well. The cognitive narrowing that occurs during the binge blocks self-awareness for a short period of time. After the binge, when self-awareness returns, the remaining negative feelings are then often expelled by purging
identity-ED interplay
Deze is belangrijk!!!!! zie ook plaatje in schrift
Individuals experiencing more identity diffusion may also be more susceptible to internalize the body perfect ideal—promoting a slender or muscular body for women and men, respectively. Consequently, this internalization may fuel individuals to consider this perfect body ideal as a source of self-definition. This can, in turn, stimulate the wish to be thinner and trigger disturbed eating behavior, especially in women. Once individuals have engaged in these types of behavior, it may install a harmful cycle in which the body and eating regulation become an increasingly central part of one’s identity and self-esteem. Hence, gaining weight may be regarded as a threat to one’s identity, which contributes to the development of a vulnerable sense of self and, consequently, identity diffusion.
andere termen voor NSSI
self-mutilation, partial or parasuicide, automutilation, delicate cutting, deliberate self-harm, and self-injurious behaviors (indirect self-harming behaviors such as alcoholism, self-poisoning, substance abuse, and EDs are not considered as NSSI)
voorbeelden van NSSI
self-cutting, self-scratching, head banging, self-hitting, and self-burning
criteria voor NSSI
(A) engaging in NSSI on 5 or more days in the last year,
(B) engaging in NSSI to relieve negative feelings, interpersonal difficulty or to induce positive feelings,
(C) NSSI being associated with interpersonal difficulties, preoccupation, and thinking about NSSI even when not acted upon,
(D) the behavior is not socially sanctioned,
(E) causes distress or interference in functioning, and
(F) does not occur exclusively during psychotic episodes, delirium, and substance intoxication or withdrawal
prevalentie NSSI among adolescents
17.2%….
NSSI and identity
patients engaging in self-cutting or related self-harm behaviors transformed their symptoms into an identity. Patients with NSSI have an enduring feeling of emptiness and a disbelief in their own growth potential. They often believe that the NSSI is all they possess and that nothing else can substantially define their core sense of self. Consequently, stopping such self-harm behaviors may be experienced to lead to inner emptiness and severe identity diffusion.
in which two ways does NSSI “help”with identity confusion
- manage negative affect (try to regulate it)
- offer an alternate sense of self (may even form the negative identity of a self-injurer
identity-NSSI pathway
identity diffusion -> loss of self + severe distress -> affect dysregulation -> NSSI -> NSSI as central to identity -> lack of social invalidation -> identity diffusion…
common risk factors of NSSI and EDs
emotion dysregulation, dissociation, low body regard, and self-objectification.
both behaviors are described as disturbances in the way the individual experiences one’s own body.
patients have been found to generally experience their body as a physical object that can be looked at by others, in which a first-person perspective is lacking. This self-objectification and materialization of the body results in “a lived body for others” that can be judged or criticized.
both disturbed eating and NSSI may be symptomatic of a rather maladaptive quest to experience a coherent sense of self, with the body being perceived as an object that can be controlled.
oke
As both behaviors may represent a primary source of self-esteem and identity for these individuals lacking a core sense of self, such an overemphasis and objectification of the body, can be interpreted as a pseudo-identity that can only offer temporary security.
wauw
as this “ED/NSSI identity” is not socially validated and only provides temporary security, it is highly vulnerable and often yields feelings of identity diffusion.
oke
