At KamSU, researchers discovered how the relationship between self-identity and time perspective evolves with age.

The study involved 139 participants aged between 16 and 55, divided into four age groups: adolescents (15-17 years), young adults (18-22 years), young professionals (23-29 years), and mature adults (30-55 years). A comprehensive set of methodologies was employed, including the F. Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, which assesses an individual's attitude towards the past, present, and future; L.B. Schneider's techniques for researching professional and personal identity, which help determine an individual's identity status; and V.R. Manukyan's crisis events questionnaire, which reveals the degree of experiencing various biographical crises.

The results of the study confirmed well-known facts about identity and its dynamics. For instance, in adolescence, 71.1 percent of respondents exhibit premature professional identity, indicating the presence of an adopted belief system regarding their future profession. At the same time, personal identity has largely been achieved by most adolescents, signifying a developed system of goals and beliefs.

In young adulthood, there is an increase in the number of respondents with a crisis in professional identity (46 percent), reflecting a clash between their perceptions of the profession and the realities of the educational process. During this age, the percentage of individuals with personal hyper-identity also rises—from 7.9 percent in adolescence to 23.4 percent in young adulthood.

It is noted that the crisis of professional identity continues into early adulthood. However, its nature changes: while in youth the crisis is related to adapting to the professional education process, in young adulthood it reflects the disparity between actual job opportunities and idealized expectations. For example, a young specialist may find that their job expectations do not align with reality, leading to a reassessment of their professional choices.

The study also revealed that the intensity of experiencing biographical crises decreases with age. For instance, the crisis of emptiness and hopelessness is rated at an average of 12.32 points during adolescence, while in maturity this score drops to 9.38 points. This may be linked to the fact that adults possess more life experience and more developed coping strategies for hardships.

Researchers found that the relationship between identity and an individual's time perspective also has age-specific characteristics. Significant correlations were identified in young adulthood between personal identity indicators and such time perspective parameters as negative past, hedonistic present, and fatalistic present.

This indicates that during the period of professional education, an individual's perception of the past, present, and future has a stronger influence on shaping their self-concept. In older age (the early adulthood and maturity period), personal and professional identity is not correlated with the time perspective, which may suggest a more structured and stable organization of identity that is less responsive to changes in an individual's time perspective.

“Our research has shown that self-determination is a continuous process that persists throughout a person's life, and different time orientations become the foundation for it at various age stages. Understanding the age-specific nature of this process can aid in developing more effective career guidance and psychological support programs for individuals,” emphasizes Elena Meshcheryakova, senior lecturer at the Department of Theoretical and Practical Psychology at Kamchatka State University named after Vitus Bering, Candidate of Psychological Sciences.

The findings of the study can be utilized by psychologists, educators, and career guidance specialists to develop programs aimed at supporting personal and professional self-determination for people of various ages, as well as assisting in overcoming identity crises.

The work was carried out as part of the implementation of a grant from the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “Kamchatka State University named after Vitus Bering.”