Romantic Relationship Issues Described by Young Adults with Moratorium Ego Identity Status and Anxious Attachment Style

Abstract

This research brings together the theoretical common ground between a specific (moratorium) ego identity status and anxious attachment and explores the relationship between the two empirically. It builds upon existing literature around ego identity statuses, attachment styles and psychosocial developmental theory and investigates the types of relationship difficulties experienced by Turkish young people. To this aim I conducted two related studies, resulting in original quantitative and qualitative research findings. In Study 1 I explored the relationship between ego identity status categories and attachment styles, and between specific ego identity status categories and specific (anxious or avoidant) attachment styles. The findings led to Study 2, with a narrowed down sample group demonstrating moratorium ego identity status and anxious attachment styles. I was able to conduct an in-depth exploration of the particular kinds of relationship and attachment difficulties that they experienced. Overall, the research findings demonstrated a significant relationship between ego identity statuses and attachment anxiety, and moratorium ego identity status and anxious attachment in particular. The key relational issues that emerged from my qualitative study included; different affection styles, power struggles, family intrusiveness, intrusiveness of the partner, perceived clinginess of the partner, dominance in terms of controlling behaviour, and cultural/religious differences. These findings offer a nuanced picture of how these young adults struggle with their romantic relationships in the context of autonomy and conflict that define the loosely collectivist social context. This research makes original contributions to existing knowledge about the interaction of moratorium ego identity status and attachment anxiety during emerging adulthood through empirical findings by combining a qualitative approach with a quantitative methodology. This study also builds upon existing work by engaging with five groups of ego identity status. It adds to our understanding of how transitional ego identity status is a useful category of thought and documents this phenomenon within the Turkish context. Throughout the research I considered my own experience, role as a researcher and the importance of reflexivity. I thought about the themes of transference and countertransference and tried to understand how the interviews contained elements of the participants’ inner experiences. I connect the research findings to clinical implications and also make important recommendations for future research directions.