Validating a centrality model of self-identity

An earlier investigation of the centrality of attributes of self-identity led to a 4-factor model. The 4 factors of self-identity which varied according to their centrality and which were measured by the Who Am I? Scale (Pedersen, 1994) were spiritual, personal/social, family, and identifications (outward and physical). This study was directed toward further validation of the model. Three grouping variables – gender, marital status, and church attendance – were examined according to their relationship to profiles representing the centrality of the 4 factors. A total of 226 participants from 3 diverse universities were studied. Profile analyses yielded no significant gender differences in the centrality profiles. However, there were significant differences relative to marital status and amount of church attendance. Married people had identities that were higher in family and lower in personal/social and identifications. Additionally, church attendance was directly  related  to  the  centrality  of  spiritual  identity  and  inversely  related  to  the  centrality  of personal/social and identification identities.