Empirical Research On University Students' Role Identity

Role identity of contemporary university students which has drawn much attention of the society is an individual psychology problem as well as a social problem. The research domestic and abroad on role identity or self of university students mainly followed self identity approach created by Erikson. There are also some research on sportsmanship identity of university students, ethnic identity of university students, volunteers identity of university students and Christian identity of university students from the viewpoint of role identity and social identity but few research from the viewpoint of the role of university students itself.Thus, there is necessity to carry on empirical research on university students' role identity for the sake of reality and theory.The research aimed to explore the university students' role identity from Psychological Social Perspective and analyze the relevant problem in detail. Based on the documentary analysis, role identity is defined as a psychological social process that people percept and experience the roles one takes and behave in accordance with the role requirements. According to it, the main contents of the research are as follows. Firstly, establish a measure tool which is clear structured, high credible and efficient, and capable to diagnose the role identity conditions of contemporary Chinese university students. The confusion arisen in current university students is actually a kind of role identity crisis. A measuring tool of role identity adaptive to current Chinese university students is needed for the purpose of understanding the exact role identity status of university students. Secondly, distinguish the characteristics of ordinary role identity and that of prominent role identity of contemporary Chinese university students; examine the impact of sex, geographic place, major and grade on university students' role identity. Meanwhile in this step, the relevant problems are analyzed deeply by the interviewing data and reviewing university students' blogs in order to provide some support for the decision making on university students' role identity by the education bureaus. Thirdly, explore the inner psychological system of university students' role identity; examine the intern casual relationship among the six first factors in the university students' role identity questionnaire; analyze the external factors influence role identity(role orientation, role conflict); find out the impact of self expectancy, self evaluation, social expectancy and social support on role identity (role orientation, role conflict) seeking to get an effective approach of improving university students' positive role identity; explore the influence of role identity on self esteem and self efficiency of university students. The following are the results gained from the research.(1) University students' role identity is a two dimensional structure consisted with positive identity which conclude role orientation, feeling experience and role adaptation and negative identity which conclude role conflict, role burnout and role contradiction. The university students' role identity questionnaire created in this research has good credibility and validity, thus it can be used as effective tool for assess university students' role identity condition.(2) The average of university students positive identity is 3.30, a little higher than critical value. A further analysis found that, the average of role experience and role adaptation are 3.38 and 3.48; average of role orientation factor is 2.84, which rated between not very accordance and hard to confirm and have a bigger CV value, illustrating that a higher QT peak and negative identity status existed in the factors attributed to university students' positive identity.(3) The average of univestity students negative identity and three first factors is lower than the critical value 3, which is between 2.43-2.85. That is to say the rate is between "not very accordance with " and "hard to confirm", which is a negative identity status. However, it has a higher CV value, between 0.20 and 0.33, especially for the factors of role contradiction which has a lower average but a higher CV value. This indicates that the negative role idnetity status is partially prominent rather than holistically. (4) With respect of factors in negative identity, role orientation and role experience, male university students rate prominently higher than female university students do.(5) University students from urban rate much higher on the factor of role orientation than university students from rural, showing that urban students more clearly understand the role target in college phase.(6) There is a prominent main grade effect on role orientation, role experience and positive identity, and a unique phase variation trend either. The LSD (Fisher's Least Significant Difference) shows that sophomores and seniors rate highly than freshmen and juniors on these three factors, that is to say negative role identity rises from fist year to second year, and falls down from second year to third year, then finally rise up from third year to fourth year.(7) The comprehensive index rate indicate that the order which university students' current salient role identity rate from high to low is study, interpersonal relationship, social practice, career preparation, love experience, citizen behavior and political persuits.(8) Role cognition(including role orientation and role conflict) has a indirect effect on role experience, positive reaction(role adaptation) and negative reaction(role burnout and role contradiction) have a moderation effect betwwen them. That is to say role cognitive factors such as role orientation and role conflict have a indirect effect on role experience moderating by such reaction approach as role adaptiation, role burnout and role contradiction.(9)Self expectation, social expectation and self evaluation can well explain the role orientation, which means self expectation, social expectation and self evaluation have negative direct effect on role orientation, while social expectation and self evaluation have indirect effect on role orientation through the mediation of self expectation.(10)Self expectation, social expectation and self evaluation have a salient prediction effect on role orientation,that is to say,positive role identity will benefit the enhancement of self esteem and self efficiency of university students. Negative identity has a negative relationship with self esteem and self efficiency, that is to say,negative role identity will weaken self esteem and self efficiency of university students.In general, the research has good theoretical and practical value for it explored the role identity of university students in detail. Moreover, the research examined the university students' identity problem from the their role of university students. Admittedly, a new role identity structure model and the first domestic university students' role identity questionnaire were established in this research. According to the questionnaire, the intern psychology system, several antecedents and results of university students' role identity are explore either. The research results undoubtedly provide valuable guide for the college educators to deal with the role identity of students, and help us understand the role identity problems from the perspectives of education system, education approach, education policy and social environment thus to draw attentions and reflections from relevant important others as well. For the methodology applied in this research, quality examination and quantity examination were effective combined and mutually specified in order to analyze the relevant problems deeply and systematically. The main limit of the research is that the exploration of university students' role identity is a solely still status examination, lacking in a dynamic investigation. So research in the future should apply a track research approach. Additionally, research in the future can investigate the interactive system between group identity and role identity of university students, the relationship among role identity, mental health, subjective well-being, life satisfactory of university students, and the linkage between role identity and self identity.