The Other Identity Politics: Political Turning Points and Political Identity Development in College-Going Emerging Adults

Authors' Names

Kaetlyn Cordingley, University of Montana, MissoulaFollow

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Category

Social Sciences/Humanities

Abstract/Artist Statement

Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental period, especially for identity development – the development of our sense of who we are internally and relative to others. This research sought to investigate one understudied aspect of identity development: Political identity. Four questions guided this research: First, is political identity related to broad identity development? Second, does political identity development differ based on political ideology (liberal, moderate, conservative)? Third, do individuals’ self-identified political turning point events differ based on political ideology? Fourth, does identity development, more generally, and political identity development, more specifically, predict narrative arcs around political turning points? College-going emerging adults (18-25 years; N = 219) from the Montana University System completed an online survey comprised of a Demographic Questionnaire, Dimensions of Identity Development Scale, Political Behavior and Attitudes assessment, Political Identity Development measure, Political Turning Point Narrative, and a well-being measure (WHO-5). This study sought to fill the gap in political identity development literature by refining our understanding of identity development, particularly political identity development, in emerging adulthood for college-going adults.

Mentor Name

Rachel Severson

Personal Statement

Following the completion of my master’s thesis, the direction I wanted to take for my dissertation became clear. My research on processing of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed interesting identity and well-being differences between liberal and conservative respondents. Building on those findings, I was interested in exploring how political identity develops and interacts with other aspects of self during emerging adulthood. Gaining a better understanding of emerging adulthood is one of my objectives as a higher education professional. I seek to better understand our students and meet them where they are. One of the things that I appreciate most about narrative analysis is the vulnerability and honesty that respondents trust me with and the fact that each narrative is a snapshot of what they are thinking and what has shaped who they are today. This insight students offer into their pasts allows us to better understand their present. Beyond my personal goals as a professional, gaining a better understanding of how political identity develops is critical. We are in particularly polarized political times and understanding the ways in which people are different and also the ways they are similar might help us understand how we move forward together as a nation. In reading the narratives from my study, I was able to see that there are many more ways in which people are not significantly different (and I meant that in both the statistical and adverbial sense). The ways in which respondents are different are interesting from a research perspective, but as a human being, the ways in which they are similar give me optimism. I hope that through my research and research like mine people can share the moments that shaped them and we can understand that there is more that unites us than divides us.