Value Factors of the Subjects’ Ego-Identity in the Marriage Dyad

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an empirical study of ego-identity values in marital dyads with and without children. The research hypothesis was the assumption of the specificity of a complicated interdependent relationship between ego-identity parameters and value orientations in subjects of a marital dyad with and without children. The study employed two techniques: the “Study of Ego-­Identity Structure. SEI test” by E. L. Soldatova and the “Schwartz Questionnaire for the Study of Personal Values” which consists of two parts: “Values Survey” and the “Personality Profile”. The sample included spouses (registered married couples) with and without children. The total sample size is 200 people: 50 married couples with children (of pre-school and primary school age) and 50 married couples with no children. The study reveals that dyads with and without children share similar values and ego-identity parameters, suggesting that the respondents are experiencing a normative crisis of adulthood. At the same time, married couples with children, compared to those without children, have higher values of creative power of development, acknowledge responsibility for their choices, and are more likely to recognize and accept their feelings and trust their emotions. Spouses with children are less likely to explicitly state their values and more likely to be guided by them in their behavior. This is especially true of values related to self-transcendence. The parameters of value orientations and ego-identity are closely correlated with the parameters of the value sphere, and there is a pronounced specificity of this relationship in couples with and without children. Dyads without children are characterized by a greater variety of ego-identity value factors (five factors vs. three). The main value factors of ego-identity statuses in dyads with children are tradition at the belief level, and universalism and conformity at the behavior level. On the other hand, for dyads without children, the main influencing factors are conformity, security and hedonism at the belief level, and hedonism and conformity at the behavior level. The main value factors affecting ego-identity parameters in dyads with children are conformity at the belief level, and security and stimulation at the behavior level. For dyads without children, the main value factors are kindness, non-significance of achievements, authority, conformity at the belief level, and stimulation at the behavior level.