Professional identity in Latvia and UK

ISSN 2029-5774

Tarptautinis verslas:

International Business:

i n o va c i j o s , p s i c h o l o g i j a , e k o n o m i k a

In n o va t i o n s , Ps y c h o l o g y , E c o n o m i c s

2011, t. 2, Nr. 1(2), p. 52–70

2011, Vol. 2, No 1(2), pp. 52–70

1SPGFTTJPOBMJEFOUJUZPGöSTUZFBSVOJWFSTJUZ TUVEFOUTGSPN-BUWJBBOE6, "OJUB1JQFSF Daugavpils University Latvia E-mail: [email protected]

+FǦFOB+BLPWǦFWB Baltic Psychology and Management High School, Latvia E-mail: [email protected]

The study aims to compare the extent and correlates of professional identity at the initial stage of professional training in two cultural contexts. My Vocational Situation, Dellas Identity Status Inventory-Occupation, and Aspects of Identity Questionnaire IV were administered to first-year university students in Latvia (n = 139) and the UK (n = 138). The UK students were found to report a significantly higher level of Professional Identity than Latvian students. The UK students scored higher in Achievement, while their Professional Identity, Moratorium, Diffused-Diffused and Diffused-Luck were lower than those of Latvian students. Personal Identity was found higher in the UK students. In both samples, Professional Identity was better predicted by identity statuses than by identity aspects, but for Latvian students also a negative correlation between Social and Collective Identity and Professional identity was found. The results show the cultural specificity of Professional Identity and implicate for the individual and institutional changes. , F Z X P S E T identity, professional identity, identity aspects, identity status, first-year students.

1SPGFTTJPOBMJEFOUJUZPGGJSTUZFBS VOJWFSTJUZTUVEFOUTGSPN-BUWJB BOEUIF6, The study presented in this article constitutes part of a larger research on professional identity of young people at the initial stage of their professional training. The social and economic crisis in Latvia and on the global scale has caused a strained situation in the labour market and the necessity to make sustainable * Corresponding autor: E-mail: [email protected]

changes in educational system in general and in the system of higher education in particular. In this context, the necessity of research in the field of professional identity of university students – the would-be professionals and decision-makers in the future society – is evident. Besides, this research is the first attempt of a cross-cultural comparison in the field of university students’ professional identity using samples from Latvia and the UK. According to Baumeister and Muraven (1996), a person’s identity, one’s inner self,

Tarptautinis verslas: inovacijos, psichologija, ekonomika. 2011, t. 2, Nr. 1(2)

A. Pipere, J. Jakovļeva. 1ĿļĳĲŀŀĶļĻĮĹĶıĲĻŁĶŁņļĳĳĶĿŀŁņĲĮĿłĻĶŃĲĿŀĶŁņŀŁłıĲĻŁŀĳĿļĺ-ĮŁŃĶĮĮĻı6,

one’s individuality and uniqueness have to be emphasized in order to adapt to the demands of modern life. At the same time they regard identity as a form of adaptation between person and context, the outcome of the interaction between what they call “the basic nature of selfhood” and the social and cultural context. They emphasize the influence of the broad, historical, and societal context upon the norms and criteria of what one’s identity should be. Following this approach, professional identity in this study will be treated within a framework reflecting the synergy between the impact of external (social) and internal (personality) factors or the environment (Marcia, 1964, 1966; Matteson, 1977; Holland, 1973; Waidtlow, 2002, etc.). First, we will explore the main variables of the study and conceptualize their nature as external or internal factors. The professional identity of first-year university students in this research will be explored in connection with the statuses of professional identity and identity orientations. *EFOUJUZTUBUVTFTBOETUBUVTFTPGQSPGFTTJPOBMJEFOUJUZ

Marcia (1980) describes identity as “an internal, self-constructed, dynamic organization of drives, abilities, beliefs, and individual history”. According to his identity status model, individuals can be classified into one of the four statuses on the basis of the process variables such as “crisis” (later “exploration”) and “commitment” in various content domains (e.g., the adolescents will or may have a distinct identity status in the areas of school / occupation, politics / ideology, and intimate relationships). The foreclosed status is characterized by strong commitments without exploration, the diffused status by absence of commitments and exploration, moratorium by absence of commitments but active exploration, and achieve-

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ment by strong commitments that have been chosen after a process of exploration (Bosma, Kunnen, 2001). Early reviews of research using Marcia’s paradigm (Marcia, 1980; Waterman, 1982) indicate that these statuses can be divided into two groups: achievement and moratorium are generally associated with positive characteristics (e.g., high levels of self-esteem, autonomy, reasoning in terms of moral values), whereas foreclosure and identity diffusion are associated with negative characteristics (e.g., low levels of self-esteem, autonomy, reasoning) (Wim, 1993). Later, a more complex approach to these statuses emerged from several studies in which diffusion was considered to be the lowest and achievement the highest status (e.g., Marcia et al., 1993), but the position of foreclosure and moratorium between the other two statuses is unclear (Bosma, Kunnen, 2001). Regarding the developmental path from early adolescence to late adolescence, many studies confirm the predominance of shifts from less mature to more mature statuses (Waterman, 1999a, 1999b; Berzonsky, Adams, 1999; Meeus, 1996; Meeus, Iedema, Helsen, Vollenberg, 1999). Kroger (1993) asserts that a transition from the foreclosure to the moratorium to the achievement status reflects a shift from identifications with parental values (impact of external environment) to an identity configuration with self-selected identifications. At the same time, Côté and Levine (1988a, 1988b, 1988c) state that more attention should be paid to wider contextual factors. The historical and social context determines the adaptive quality of different statuses, and the development of identity is strongly affected by those factors. Evidence suggests that historical and cultural factors do affect identity development (see Marcia, 1989, 1996; Kroger, 1993). Grounding on Ericsons’ socialpsychological theory and the above described Marcia’s model of four identity statuses, Dellas and

International Business: Innovations, Psycholog y, Economics. 2011, Vol. 2, No 1(2)

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Jernigan (1981) compiled the Dellas Identity Status Inventory-Occupation (DISI-O). It has been assumed that since identity statuses are domain specific, the model of identity statuses could be applied to the occupation as to one of important life domains. Beside the statuses of Achievement, Moratorium and Foreclosure, Dellas and Jernigan included two distinct statuses of Diffusion: Diffused-Diffused (no commitment and superficial search) and Diffused-Luck (no commitment and dependence on luck or fate). The Diffused-Luck factor originated when the factor structure substantiated two unique clusters of diffused statements (Dellas, Jernigan, 1981). *EFOUJUZBTQFDUT

Cheek and his colleagues (e.g., Cheek, 1989; Cheek, Tropp, Chen, Underwood, 1994) have characterized identity as comprising three broad structural categories, each having significance for an individual’s psychosocial functioning. Later, the fourth category – Relational identity – was added. Personal identity concerns one’s personal values, ideas, goals, emotions, and subjective feelings of continuity and uniqueness. Social identity concerns the self in relation to others and one’s public image, e.g., popularity, attractiveness, and reputation. Collective identity concerns the aspects of the selfconcept that relate to social or demographical groups of affiliation, such as one’s race, gender, ethnic background, religion, and feelings of belonging in one’s community. Relational identity concerns the way we build our personal relationships with other people (Cheek, Smith, Tropp, 2002). These representations are relatively stable, trait-like self-descriptions that describe self-related individual differences in beliefs and goals (Leary, Wheeler, Jenkins, 1986). Individuals will vary in the importance they give to these aspects of identity when constructing their selfdefinitions (Cheek et al.,1994).

Research shows that individuals high in personal identity will tend to have such characteristics as sociability, autonomy, and a need for uniqueness. High personal identity is associated with making decisions and choices based on personal reasons or benefits. According to Sampson’s (1978) concept of “identity mastery”, to accomplish stability and continuity to one’s identity, people will attempt to manage the aspects of the internal or external environment to maintain their sense of selfsameness. Individuals who place high importance on their personal identity will define their identity in terms of internally located characteristics and will attempt to manage the internal environment in order to maintain their sense of selfsameness. Having less of a need to exercise external control, such individuals would be more stable across different situations. When social identity is a salient aspect of identity, individuals will be sociable, but there will be conformity and a fear of a negative social evaluation instead of autonomy (Schlenker, Weigold, 1990). High social identity is associated with making decisions and choices based on social reasons or benefits. Such individuals will define their identity in terms of externally located characteristics and will attempt to manage the external environment in order to maintain their sense of selfsameness. The implication of identity mastery for psychosocial functioning is that when social identity is a strong aspect of one’s identity, identity is much more precarious than in the case when personal identity is the most important aspect of identity. Wade and Brittan-Powel (2000) argue that a collective orientation adds to the self-concept through a sense of belonging or group membership, thereby having implications for stability and continuity of identity of the quality associated with personal identity. Collective identity tends to be more salient in members of



minority race groups with a collectivistic orientation (Cheek et al., 1994) and in the individuals who consider their ethnicity as a highly central aspect of their self-concept (Tropp, 1992). Collective identity has also been investigated for its relationship to self-concept and self-esteem in individuals from a variety of social or demographic groups (e.g., Hengst, 1997; Marmarosh, Corazzini, 1997; Wright, Forsyth, 1997). When collective identity is an important aspect of one’s self-concept, and / or the group with which one identifies is perceived as valued, self-esteem is positively affected because of one’s affiliation with a particular group. In our study, both social and collective identity will be associated with the impact of the external environment. Some researchers view relational self as an aspect of the collective or interdependent self (Cross, Bacon, Morris, 2000; Singelis, 1994). However, other studies indicate that relational identity may be more strongly associated with personal than collective identity (Cheek et al., 2002; Kashima, Hardie, 2000), perhaps because relational identities involve a connection between separate individuals (i.e. personal selves) and not between the individual and a group or a collective. Furthermore, some research indicates that of the importance of relational selves is more a function of gender than culture (Cross et al., 2000; Kashima, Hardie, 2000). Therefore, in our research on students from Latvia and the UK, personal and relational identity will be associated with individuals’ internal environment. 1SPGFTTJPOBMJEFOUJUZ

Professional identity construction is an important task in career development and egoidentity achievement (Raskin, 1994; Savickas, 1985; Sharf, 2002). Possessing a secure professional identity or a “clear and stable picture of one’s goals, interests, personality, and talents”

55

(Holland, Daiger, Power, 1980) contributes to an appropriate vocational decision-making and confidence in one’s ability to make careerrelated decisions in the face of unavoidable surrounding uncertainty. Failure to build a stable professional identity often results in career indecision (Holland et al., 1980). The development of professional identity starts in the childhood and continues all through the life (Ginzberg, Ginsburg, Axelrad, Herma, 1951; Super, 1957; Havighurst, 1964, etc.). Some researchers have emphasized the dominance of intrapersonal context (e.g., Korthagen, 2004; Dobrow, Higgins, 2005; Fadjukoff, Pulkkinen, Kokko, 2005) in professional identity. The external factors in relation to professional identity are also stressed in several studies (Griffin, 2008; Cohen, 1981; Gregg, Magilvy, 2001; Meeus, 1993; McCoy, 2004). A large number of researchers (e.g., Gushue, Clarke, Pantzer, Skanlan, 2006; Dellas, Jernigan, 1981; Lent, Brown, Hackett, 1994; Munson, Widmer, 1997) in their exploration of professional identity consider both intrapersonal and external (social) aspects. As mentioned at the beginning of the paper, our present research was based on a combined approach to the construct of professional identity. Samples from the two countries are compared considering the relationships between professional identity and its external or internal environment. The significance of the external environment (social context) of professional identity is expressed by a high salience of social and collective aspects of identity and a foreclosed status of professional identity. The importance of the internal environment is implicated by a high salience of personal and relational identity and such professional identity statuses as moratorium, achievement, diffusion, and luck. Analysis of the literature shows that at the initial stage of professional development an individual usually experiences a significant


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impact of the external environment (parents, friends, and teachers). Later, the individual gradually grows in his / her skills for an independent evaluation of his / her abilities, desires, and interests. University studies should build the professional identity of an individual, expressed in his / her behaviour, views, and interest in studies. With starting a job after graduation, the development of professional identity continues under the impact of the professional environment, relationships with colleagues, professional situations, which allow the person to adapt to his / her profession and get engaged in professional self-determination. Professional identity, already in the first year of university studies, exerts a positive influence on mastering knowledge, proficiency, and professional skills as well as on the formation of the image of oneself as a future professional (Ginsberg et al., 1951; Super, 1957; Meeus, 1993, etc.). Regarding the possible relationships between different variables in the given study, it could be assumed that the general self-identity perceptions may affect professional identity as one of identity domains by serving as a source of information for decision-making in the career. Personal identity has been found to be related to an achieved ego identity (Berzonsky, Trudeau, Brennan, 1988); therefore, a similar connection would be expected in this study. People with higher levels of personal identity are more likely to form positive attitudes toward, and develop personal beliefs of control over, a given behaviour. In contrast, those who tend to be oriented towards social aspects of identity will be more likely to rate significant others’ beliefs highly when forming intentions (Hagger, Anderson, Kyriakaki, Darkings, 2007). As a consequence, the social and collective identity orientation would be connected with the foreclosure, diffusion or luck status of professional identity, while personal identity and relational identity

would be associated with the achievement or moratorium of professional identity. Additionally, the research by Dobrow and Higgins (2005) indicates that the understanding of the professional identity of an individual becomes less clear due to the widening of social relations and the growing amount of information. Also, it has been proven that social identity has a negative impact on professional identity (Adams, Hean, Sturgis, Clark, 2006). In the present research, the main difference between the samples of first-year university students from Latvia and the UK is the age of students. This difference emerges from the lack of congruence of educational systems in the UK and Latvia. In the UK, before entering the stage of higher education, after leaving secondary school, pupils have to graduate from the sixth grade of college; this takes two years. Young people can enter specialized colleges, and after graduation they can enter the labour market. However, after finishing some extra courses and having several years of experience in a certain speciality, they have a possibility to assume their higher education studies. In Latvia, secondary school leavers can get enrolled in higher education right upon leaving school, and the majority of students do so. The relatively large proportion of the sample from the UK first-year students (23.9%) was older than 30 years; this could be explained by their career progress after secondary school: specialized colleges, official employment and then university studies. However, there is some research evidence suggesting that this difference in age might not play the decisive role for professional identity. For instance, in the retrospective study of events related to identity transitions, Kroger and Green (1996) asked mid-life adults to describe which events and sources of influence were, in their opinion, primarily responsible for major transitions in their lives. These events



were rated as age-related events, history-related events, critical life events, stage of the family life cycle, exposure to different cultural / social milieus / sources of influence, direct influence of a significant other, or internal change. The associations between identity status change and the type of event were much stronger that those between identity status change and demographical variables such as age, gender, educational level, etc. It could be assumed that entering university is the critical life event and exposure to new cultural and social milieus, and this major transition in respondents’ life might have a much stronger association with the peculiar status of professional identity than such demographical variable as age. Also, in the research on first-year health and social care students’ professional identity by Adams et al. (2006), age was not found among the significant predictors of baseline professional identity. To summarize, the present research aims to compare the extent and some correlates of professional identity at the initial stage of professional training in two cultural contexts, asking two main questions: What are the differences 1) in professional identity, its statuses and identity orientations and 2) in the impact of external and internal factors upon students’ professional identity for the first-year university students in Latvia and the UK?

.FUIPET 4BNQMF

The Latvian sample included 139 first-year university students (73 male, 66 female) of Daugavpils University, aged 20 to 23, the mean age 21.2 years (SD = 0.64). The sample entailed the would-be teachers of Primary Education, Sports, and Arts. The United Kingdom sample included 138 first-year university students (63 male, 75 fe-

57

male) of Liverpool University, aged 23 to 38, the mean age 27.9 years (SD = 4.08). The sample consisted of students – future teachers of Art and Design, Modern Foreign Languages, Primary Education, Physical Education and Sport Science. Although information on the socioeconomic status of the participants was not requested, it can be assumed that the majority of participants had a middle-class background. .FBTVSFT

My Vocational Situation (MVS) (Holland et al., 1980) is a self-administered and handscored instrument assessing readiness for career choice in terms of vocational identity, need for career information, and barriers to career choice. The Vocational Identity scale consists of 18 true / false items, such as I don’t know what my major strengths and weaknesses are, and measures the clarity of a person’s vocational goals and self-perceptions. Only the scale of vocational identity was used in the study. Holand et al. (1980) reported internal consistency reliability coefficients ranging from 0.86 to 0.89 for the vocational identity subscale. In the present study, the internal consistency reliability coefficient was found to be 0.78. While the test– retest reliability obtained by Lucas, Gysbers, Buescher, and Heppner (1988) was 0.64, in the present study it was 0.87. Holland et al. (1980) established the construct validity of the MVS in developing the scale and small to moderate correlations in the expected direction between the three subscales and participants’ age, the number and variety of their occupational aspirations and external ratings for a sample of 824 individuals in high school, college or business. Dellas Identity Status Inventory-Occupation (DISI-O) (Dellas, Jernigan, 1981) is one of the most promising instruments for measuring occupational identity (Bosma, 1985). It


58


contains 35 items grouped in to seven sets of five. Each item in a set stands for one of the five identity status types: Achieved, Moratorium, Foreclosed, Diffused-Diffused, DiffusedLuck. This division is identical to that of Marcia, except for the subdivision of diffusion. Diffused-Diffused respondents are entirely unconcerned regarding their future occupation, while Diffused-Luck respondents do not worry because they place their trust in luck. Examples of DISI-O items include: identity achievement – I have looked into various kinds of work, made my choice, and am satisfied with my occupation; moratorium – At this time I am still checking on a number of things to get a clear picture of the occupation I want; foreclosure – I have long known what occupation I want to take up. That is why I did not have to look at other jobs; diffused-diffused – I am not so concerned with a profession yet; I do not want to choose until the time is ripe; diffusedluck – You never know what course your career will take, so I am not worrying much about occupations. In every set, the respondent is asked to check the item that fits him or her best. The number of items checked for each status is added together, and the respondent is assigned to a status when at least four of the seven possibilities relative to that status are checked. The DISI-O reported internal consistency coefficients from 0.64 to 0.92 (Dellas, Jernigan, 1981). In the present study, the internal consistency reliability coefficient was found to be 0.81 for Achieved, 0.80 for Moratorium, 0.81 for Foreclosed, 0.81 for DiffusedDiffused, and 0.81 for Diffused-Luck type of identity status. Aspects of Identity Questionnaire-IV (AIQIV) (Cheek et al., 2002) is a 45-item objective inventory that measures the importance of four identity orientations in individuals’ self-concepts: a) personal identity, or the importance of one’s psychological traits and other personal

attributes (e.g., My personal values and moral standards), b) relational identity, or how individuals see themselves in the context of their intimate relationships (e.g., My relationships with the people I feel close to), c) social identity, or how individuals see themselves in more general interpersonal contexts (e.g., My reputation, what others think of me), and d) collective identity, or how individuals represent their various reference group identities (e.g., My race or ethnic background). Respondents filled in a blank space next to each item with a number from 1 (“not important to my sense of who I am”) to 5 (“extremely important to my sense of who I am”). Higher scores indicated the larger importance of a peculiar aspect to one’s identity. Cheek et al. (2002) reported internal consistency coefficients for four identity orientations from 0.72 to 0.92. In the present study, the internal consistency reliability coefficients were found in range from 0.70 to 0.80. The test–retest reliability obtained in the present study was .73. 1SPDFEVSF

Participants in each university were addressed in groups of 10–30 students; they were informed by the investigator and her assistant about the aim of the research; their participation was voluntary and their questionnaire responses were confidential and anonymous. Participants then completed the questionnaire packet comprising instructions and informed-consent information, questions regarding personal data and three measures (MVS, DISI-O and AIQ-IV). No extra credit was provided for participation. All instruments were administered in the language of instruction at the relevant universities, Latvian in Latvia, and English in the UK. For the use in Latvia all instruments were translated from English into Latvian, using bilingual native speakers and the backtranslation method. The adaptation of the Latvian version



of measures before the main study showed the acceptable psychometric properties of all three instruments. %BUBBOBMZTJT

Consistent with the research questions, the statistical data analysis included the calculation of 1) means and standard deviations, 2) Kolmogorov–Smirnov criteria to determine the distribution of data, 3) the non-parametric Mann–Whitney criteria for assessing the differences between group means, 4) correlation coefficients (Spearman’s r) for measuring the association between variables, and 5) the analysis of the main influential factors (Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Data Mining Add-ins).

3FTVMUT $PNQBSBUJWFBOBMZTJTPGTUVEFOUTQSPGFTTJPOBMJEFOUJUZ JEFOUJUZTUBUVTFT BOEJEFOUJUZPSJFOUBUJPOT

The use of the Kolmogorov–Smirnov criteria showed that some variables for this study deviated from the normal distribution; therefore, the non-parametric Mann–Whitney criteria were applied for the comparative analysis of the groups.

59

As shown in Table 1, the average score of Professional identity in the UK sample was higher than in the sample from Latvia. While no significant differences were found in the Foreclosed identity status, the Achieved identity status was more salient for the UK sample. Professional identity statuses (Moratorium, Diffused-Diffused, and Diffused-Luck) scored higher in the sample of Latvian students. Personal identity orientation was more pronounced in the UK sample. No statistically significant differences in Relational, Collective, and Social orientations of identity were found between the samples. For both samples, the identity statuses of Achieved and Moratorium received the highest values, followed by Foreclosed in the UK and Diffused-Diffused in Latvia. The smallest values in the UK sample were received by Diffused-Luck and DiffusedDiffused, in Latvia’s sample – by Diffused-Luck and Foreclosed identity statuses. For both samples, the highest scores were obtained by Relational identity, followed by Personal, Social and Collective identities. 5IFJNQBDUPGFYUFSOBMBOEJOUFSOBMGBDUPST VQPOTUVEFOUTQSPGFTTJPOBMJEFOUJUZ

The observation of correlations of Professional identity with identity statuses and identity

TABLE 1..FBOT TUBOEBSEEFWJBUJPOT BOE.BOOo8IJUOFZUFTUGPSUIF6,BOE-BUWJBOTBNQMFT Mean

Variables

Standard deviation

UK (n = 138) Professional identity Achieved Moratorium Foreclosed Diffused-Diffused Diffused-Luck Personal identity Social identity Collective identity Relational identity

11.9 20.4 16.1 15.9 14.3 14.6 3.90 3.24 2.79 4.03

Mean

Standard deviation

Latvia (n = 139) 3.70 4.20 4.60 5.14 4.95 4.63 0.51 0.55 0.67 0.61

10.2 18.8 17.4 16.5 17.1 16.7 3.59 3.30 2.83 3.91

3.24 3.82 4.09 4.46 4.34 3.94 0.57 0.69 0.69 0.59

Mann– Whitney U

p

6893.5 7454.0 8199.5 8934.0 6565.0 6904.0 6346.5 9322.5 9288.0 8446.0

0.000 0.001 0.036 0.323 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.686 0.649 0.085


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TABLE 2. *OUFSDPSSFMBUJPOT CFUXFFO QSPGFTTJPOBM JEFOUJUZ TUBUVTFT PG QSPGFTTJPOBM JEFOUJUZ BOE JEFOUJUZ

BTQFDUTGPSUIF6,VOJWFSTJUZTUVEFOUTTBNQMF /

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 Professional identity (MVS) Achieved Moratorium Foreclosed Diffused-Diffused Diffused-Luck Personal identity Social identity Collective identity Relational identity

2 .18*

3 -.33** -.19*

4 .22** -.03 -.08

5 -.35** -.32** .81** .02

6 -.31** -.40** .63** .12 0.75**

7 -.08 .16 .00 -.15 -.06 -.01

8 -.04 -.06 .02 .00 .04 .12 .31**

9 -.10 .07 .12 .00 .12 .22* .28** .38**

10 -.10 .09 -.05 -.08 -.07 .02 .66** .29** .32**

**p < 0.01; *p < 0.05.

orientations (see Table 2) revealed that Professional identity in the UK sample had statistically significant correlations with all statuses of identity and no correlations with any of identity orientation. Professional identity had positive correlations with Achieved and Foreclosed identity statuses and negative correlations with Moratorium, Diffused-Diffused, and Diffused-Luck. The intercorrelation of identity statuses displayed positive and very strong correlations between Moratorium and Diffused-Diffused and Diffused-Luck, as well as between Diffused-Diffused and Diffused-Luck. Negative, though less strong correlations were found between Achieved and Moratorium identity statuses, and between Diffused-Diffused and Diffused-Luck. The only correlation discovered between the statuses and orientations of identity was a positive correlation between the Diffused-Luck identity status and the Collective identity. A positive intercorrelation was found between all identity orientations; the strongest relationship was revealed between Personal and Relational identities. To summarize, the correlation analysis showed that in the UK sample both external (Foreclosed) and internal (Achieved) factors

had a certain positive impact on Professional identity. However, the non-commitment statuses of identity, which are connected with inner struggle and exploration (Moratorium, Diffused-Diffused, Diffused-Luck) had a strong negative influence on Professional identity. Although there was no direct influence of identity orientations on Professional identity in this sample, the positive correlation between the Diffused-Luck and Collective identity implicated an indirect negative impact of external orientation on Professional identity. A comparison of the correlation matrixes for both samples showed that in both samples (see Table 3) Professional identity had statistically significant correlations with all statuses of identity, except for Achieved where positive correlation did not reach the level of statistical significance. Like in the UK, the Professional identity of Latvian students had a positive correlation with the Foreclosed identity status, a positive but not significant correlation with Achieved, and a negative correlation with the Moratorium, Diffused-Diffused, and DiffusedLuck identity statuses. Unlike the UK sample, the Professional Identity of Latvian students had negative correlations with Social and Collective identities.



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TABLE 3. *OUFSDPSSFMBUJPOT CFUXFFO QSPGFTTJPOBM JEFOUJUZ TUBUVTFT PG QSPGFTTJPOBM JEFOUJUZ BOE JEFOUJUZ

BTQFDUTGPSUIFTBNQMFPG-BUWJBOVOJWFSTJUZTUVEFOUT O

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 Professional Identity (MVS) Achieved Moratorium Foreclosed Diffused-Diffused Diffused-Luck Personal identity Social identity Collective identity Relational identity

2 0.15

3 -38** 0.15

4 0.20* 0.15 0.16

5 -0.42** -0.06 0.56** 0.12

6 -0.44** -0.07 0.49** 0.04 0.62**

7 .02 0.10 0.03 -0.01 0.03 -0.10

8 -0.20* -0.07 0.04 -0.01 0.11 0.13 0.45**

9 -0.23** -0.06 0.15 0.11 0.23** 0.28** 0.30** 0.53**

10 -0.01 0.05 0.04 -0.08 -0.04 -0.01 0.57** 0.42** 0.19**

**p < 0.01; *p < 0.05.

The largest dissimilarities were observed in the intercorrelations of identity statuses. The UK sample showed negative correlations between Achieved and Moratorium, DiffusedDiffused, and Diffused-Luck. Besides, the specific nuance in the Latvian sample was that the Achieved identity status had a positive statistically non-significant correlation with Moratorium. Both samples were similar regarding positive and very strong correlations between the Moratorium and Diffused-Diffused and Diffused-Luck statuses, as well as between the Diffused-Diffused and Diffused-Luck statuses. Unlike in the UK sample, the Collective identity of Latvian students correlated not only with the Diffused-Luck, but also with the Diffused-Diffused identity status. In both samples, positive intercorrelations were found between all identity orientations, and again the strongest relationship was revealed between Personal and Relational identities. To summarize, the correlation analysis showed that in the Latvian sample the externally oriented Foreclosed status of identity had a certain positive impact on Professional identity. However, the non-commitment statuses of identity (Moratorium, Diffused-Diffused, Diffused-Luck), similarly as in the UK sample, had a negative influence on Professional

identity. There was a direct influence of identity orientations on Professional identity in this sample. The negative correlation between Professional identity and Collective and Social identity orientations implies a direct negative impact of social environment on Professional Identity. In order to conduct a more detailed analysis of the factors connected with Professional identity, the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Data Mining Add-ins for MS Office 2007 were used. The analysis of key influencers allowed making a purposeful choice of the central factor (i.e. Professional identity) and then analysing the factors that would have an impact on the central factor (see Tables 4 and 5). Tables 4 and 5 show the rankings of Professional identity key influence factors in the UK and Latvian samples for high and low levels of Professional identity. A higher rank signifies a stronger influence of the factor on Professional identity. None of the tables contain identity orientations as the influence factors. Only in the UK sample (Table 4), age and gender appear among the influence factors. Table 4 shows that, similarly as in correlation analysis in which the status of Foreclosed had the highest positive correlation with Professional identity, the main influential factor



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TABLE 4. 3BOLJOHPGQSPGFTTJPOBMJEFOUJUZLFZJOøVFODFGBDUPSTJOUIF6,TBNQMF O

High level of professional identity

Low level of professional identity

#

Influence factor

Value

Mean

#

Influence factor

Value

Mean

1

Foreclosed

Max

15.9

1

Age

26–29

27.9

2

Age

>=35

27.9

2

Achieved