Identity Structure and Adolescent Mental Health: The Mediating Roles of Identity Centralization and Redundancy

This study examined how identity processes and evaluative contexts are associated with internalizing problems in adolescents. A total of 742 South Korean adolescents (52% female; M age = 15.6) completed measures of identity domain centralization, identity redundancy, academic evaluative pressure, and depressive symptoms. Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypothesized relationships among these variables. Results indicated that academic evaluative pressure was positively associated with identity centralization, which in turn was negatively associated with identity redundancy. Identity redundancy was significantly associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis revealed that identity redundancy partially mediated the relationship between evaluative pressure and depressive symptoms. Multi-group analysis indicated partial gender differences, with stronger effects observed among female adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of identity-related structural processes in adolescent mental health. The results suggest that diversified identity structures may function as a protective factor against internalizing problems in evaluative contexts.