An Original Longitudinal Investigation of Identity Development and Psychological Wellbeing Across the Emerging Adulthood Period in South East Nigeria

Emerging adulthood as a developmental period presents distinctive identity and wellbeing challenges in non-Western contexts, and longitudinal investigation of identity development trajectories and their relationship to psychological wellbeing among South East Nigerian young adults constitutes an original contribution to both lifespan development theory and counselling psychology. This study conducted an original longitudinal investigation of identity development and psychological wellbeing across a three-year period among emerging adults in Enugu and Anambra States, South East Nigeria. A prospective longitudinal design with three measurement waves (0, 18, and 36 months) was employed with a cohort of 380 young adults aged 18 to 22 at baseline. The Dimensions of Identity Development Scale, WHOQOL-BREF, and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale were administered at each wave. Latent class growth analysis identified four identity development trajectories over three years: progressive commitment (24.7 percent), exploration-to-commitment (31.3 percent), diffused identity (28.4 percent), and foreclosed (15.5 percent). Progressive commitment and exploration-to-commitment trajectories were associated with significantly higher wellbeing growth over the study period. The diffused identity trajectory showed the most elevated negative affect across all three waves. Cultural dimensions of identity formation, including family obligation identity (clan, lineage duties) and occupational prestige identity, emerged as uniquely important Nigerian identity domains not captured by standard Western identity models. The study constitutes an original longitudinal dataset for South East Nigerian emerging adulthood and provides theoretical foundations for developmental counselling interventions targeting the 18 to 24 age group.

Keywords: identity development, emerging adulthood, longitudinal study, psychological wellbeing, South East Nigeria