Verschueren, M., (2020). Identity and psychopathology: Bridging developmental and clinical research.

Question 1

the process of identity formation aims to answer this question:

Answer 1

who am i and where am i heading in life?

Question 2

formule voor succesful identity development

Answer 2

synthesis > confusion

Question 3

identity synthesis=

Answer 3

self-continuity over time, develop a stable set of goals, plans and beliefs

Question 4

identity confusion=

Answer 4

fragmented sense of self, limited self-directed decision making. struggle to find purpose and direction in life

Question 5

2 behavioural indicators of identity structure (Maria)

Answer 5

• exploration (experimenting with identity alternatives)
• commitment (adhering to a set of identity-defining goals and values)

Question 6

four statuses of identity structure (Maria)

Answer 6

• 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)

Question 7

Luyckx et al: two cycles

Answer 7

1. identity formation: individuals explore alternatives and make commitments (exploration in breadth and commitment making)
2. 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)

Question 8

ruminative exploration=

Answer 8

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

Question 9

moratorium is associated with

Answer 9

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

Question 10

onset of EDs

Answer 10

between 15-19, but across development patients may experience diagnostic shifts. often from more restrictive ED diagnoses to binge-eating/puring types over time

Question 11

prevalence of disturbed eating behaviours that do not meet diagnostic criteria

Answer 11

(e.g., fasting, taking diet pills or laxatives, vomiting, binge-eating), are highly prevalent in adolescents: approximately 57% for girls and 30% for boys

Question 12

what are the life periods in which ED risk is higher representing

Answer 12

• bodily changes
• great concern with social acceptance

-> vulnerable to internalizing beauty standards

Question 13

hoe komen identity styles overeen met lichaamsidealen

Answer 13

• 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

Question 14

patients with an ED experience far greater difficulties in forming a personal identity than community individuals do

Answer 14

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Question 15

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.

Answer 15

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Question 16

relatie tussen identity disruption en EDs

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

hoe werkt purging

Answer 17

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

Question 18

identity-ED interplay

Deze is belangrijk!!!!! zie ook plaatje in schrift

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

andere termen voor NSSI

Answer 19

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)

Question 20

voorbeelden van NSSI

Answer 20

self-cutting, self-scratching, head banging, self-hitting, and self-burning

Question 21

criteria voor NSSI

Answer 21

(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

Question 22

prevalentie NSSI among adolescents

Answer 22

17.2%….

Question 23

NSSI and identity

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

in which two ways does NSSI “help”with identity confusion

Answer 24

1. manage negative affect (try to regulate it)
2. offer an alternate sense of self (may even form the negative identity of a self-injurer

Question 25

identity-NSSI pathway

Answer 25

identity diffusion -> loss of self + severe distress -> affect dysregulation -> NSSI -> NSSI as central to identity -> lack of social invalidation -> identity diffusion…

Question 26

common risk factors of NSSI and EDs

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

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.

Answer 27

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Question 28

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.

Answer 28

wauw

Question 29

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.

Answer 29

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