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Derailment is the sense of being "off‐course" in life. But what could this mean for adolescents, who are often establishing identity and self‐direction for the first time? We examined the structure and correlates of the Derailment Scale and its short form, the Derailment Scale‐6 (DS‐6), among middle‐to‐late adolescents (N = 452). Both scales exhibited unidimensionality, but the DS‐6 demonstrated superior fit and correlated with cross‐sectional distress markers (e.g., greater depression, lower life satisfaction, strained sense of purpose). Breaking from adult‐based research, we failed to find evidence that derailment related to adolescent identity exploration and commitment. In extending assessment of derailment to adolescence, this study invites exploration of this experience during a time characterized by substantial transition and the emergence of stable self‐views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While rich with opportunities for self-exploration, the transition to and through college is stressful, often associated with the onset or exacerbation of mental illness. Attending to these characteristics, this preregistered study asked whether derailment—or difficulties reconciling perceived identity change—in freshman year predicts senior depressive symptoms, and how individual risks for depression relate to this association. Derailment and depressive symptoms evidenced significant 3-year stability, and these constructs had positive cross-sectional associations in both freshman and senior year. Freshman derailment failed to predict senior depressive symptoms for the average student, but individual differences in self-reflection moderated the association: freshman derailment positively predicted senior depression among those lowest in self-reflection. Together, this study suggests derailment and depressive symptoms are consistently related at critical points of transition, and some individual differences in cognition may help predict their long-term association. While useful for understanding nuances between derailment and depression, these findings also inform ways of attending to and supporting college students through periods of transition. Public Significance Statement: Derailment, or feeling "off-course" in life, may be a salient experience for those in the process of self-discovery, like college students. Derailment and depression are positively linked at key points of transition (i.e., when entering/leaving college), and freshman derailment appears to forecast greater senior depressive symptoms among those least prone to self-reflection. As college mental health service demands are at an all-time high, this study may inform developmentally appropriate care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Derailment, a newly mapped construct describing difficulty reconciling perceived changes in identity and self-direction, offers researchers a unique lens for understanding adjustment. As identity development is a lifelong process, establishing the impartiality of the primary measure for derailment across a broad age range is necessary. Across a cross-sectional sample of emerging, young, and midlife adults (N = 1,420), we tested preregistered hypotheses concerning whether the Derailment Scale-6 (DS-6) demonstrates measurement invariance, and the extent to which levels and correlates of derailment differ with age. The DS-6 exhibited configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance across the three age groups. In terms of effect size, statistical differences detected at the scalar level were hardly larger than negligible noninvariance effects, suggesting in sum that the DS-6 is adequate for assessing and comparing derailment among those roughly 18–70 years. In general, derailment was related to greater distress and identity exploration, and lower identity commitment, sense of purpose in life, and future time perspective (FTP). We further found that derailment shares a modest negative association with age; it is more positively associated with identity exploration among younger individuals; and it is more negatively associated with identity commitment, sense of purpose in life, and FTP among older individuals. With the broadest age range and most highly powered set of tests studying derailment to date, this investigation bolsters confidence in our tools for assessing derailment and has taken the initial steps toward sketching the form and function of perceived identity change over the lifespan. Public Significance Statement: Feeling "off-course" in life (i.e., derailment) is associated with greater concurrent psychological distress, lower identity commitment and purpose in life, and the sense that one is running out of time in their life. This study demonstrates that the tool for assessing derailment is appropriate for use among, and the comparison of, those roughly 18 to 70-years-old. Importantly, some adjustment correlates of derailment may strengthen or weaken depending upon age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We investigated which depression symptoms best predicted feelings of derailment. • The study was preregistered and included data from over 1400 adult participants. • All depressive symptoms shared positive unadjusted associations with derailment. • Feelings of failure, fatigue, and sleep issues shared positive unique associations. • Clients with these particular symptoms may be most likely to feel derailed. Studies have consistently demonstrated a positive cross-sectional association between depressive symptoms and derailment, or the sense of being "off-course" in life. Still unknown is whether all symptoms of depression similarly relate to derailment. Given that depressive symptoms do not weigh equally in the prediction of other important outcomes, this study aimed to bridge the gap between these novel findings and emerging perspectives focused on the impact of individual depressive symptoms. The study was preregistered prior to data collection. The analytic sample contained 1,457 adults (M age = 37.46 years, 54.22% female) recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Participants self-reported on depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and perceived changes in identity and self-direction using the Derailment Scale. All symptoms of depression shared positive unadjusted associations with derailment. Feelings of failure, fatigue, and sleep problems shared positive unique associations with derailment, and represented the top three contributors to the explained variance in derailment. This study relied on self-report methods, making results vulnerable to bias (e.g., social desirability, errors in memory, interpretation). As work understanding the association between depressive symptoms and derailment continues to unfold, this study has provided markers for researchers and clinicians by suggesting that those who feel like they have failed, are fatigued, or report sleep problems may be the most likely to feel off-course and disconnected from their past selves. This work helps establish the utility of considering identity within the context of mental health, and future directions stemming from these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental perspectives on self and identity view a sense of personal sameness and continuity as critical for positive adjustment. Thus, the degree to which individuals perceive change over time in self and direction constitutes an important individual difference. Here, we offer an empirically sound instrument for assessing the extent to which people feel temporally discrepant and off course—a sense we term derailment. First, we develop and empirically validate a self-report measure that is sensitive to our conceptualization of derailment (Studies 1–3). Employing the new measure with adult samples, Study 3 demonstrates its predictive ability above and beyond other widely used measures of subjective change and identity distress. Study 4 shows the negative effects of derailment persist independent of whether individuals perceive changing for the better or worse, or actually experience status-changing life events. Study 5 demonstrates the prospective utility of this measure by predicting depressive symptoms 18 months later. Finally, levels of derailment are shown to be reduced by a daily writing experiment that emphasizes goal continuity (Study 6). The discussion situates derailment at the intersection of developmental, clinical, and social psychological literatures as a unique and measurable source of psychological vulnerability, and strategies for attenuating its potentially deleterious impact are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In navigating decisions about what to eat, people both construct and rely on a food-choice identity. Yet food choice is multifaceted, as people apply different dietary schemas to different types of food, engaging various domains of food-choice identity. In this paper, we focus on dietarian identity: one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with respect to consuming or eschewing animal products (here, pertaining to red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy). First, we draw upon Rosenfeld and Burrow's (2017a) Unified Model of Vegetarian Identity in order to develop a Dietarian Identity Questionnaire (DIQ). Second, we validate the DIQ's factor structure, construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and replicability. Lastly, we highlight directions for the use of the DIQ in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much recent research has explored vegetarians' dietary motivations, recurrently highlighting the significant influence they exert on how people view themselves and others. For vegetarians and other plant-based dieters, dietary motivations have been theorized to be a central aspect of identity. Yet not all plant-based dieters are motivated to follow their diets; rather, some face aversions and constraints. In this paper, we propose that motivations, aversions, and constraints constitute three distinct reasons for consuming a plant-based diet. After conceptually distinguishing motivations from aversions and constraints, we critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of two conceptual frameworks that exist for studying these motivations systematically: the ethical-health framework and the Unified Model of Vegetarian Identity (UMVI) motivational orientations framework. Importantly, these frameworks serve different purposes, and their suitability often depends on the research question at hand. Particularly given an increasing prevalence of plant-based dieting, cultivating a more holistic understanding of these two frameworks is necessary for advancing this discipline. Directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By departing from social norms regarding food behaviors, vegetarians acquire membership in a distinct social group and can develop a salient vegetarian identity. However, vegetarian identities are diverse, multidimensional, and unique to each individual. Much research has identified fundamental psychological aspects of vegetarianism, and an identity framework that unifies these findings into common constructs and conceptually defines variables is needed. Integrating psychological theories of identity with research on food choices and vegetarianism, this paper proposes a conceptual model for studying vegetarianism: The Unified Model of Vegetarian Identity (UMVI). The UMVI encompasses ten dimensions-organized into three levels (contextual, internalized, and externalized)-that capture the role of vegetarianism in an individual's self-concept. Contextual dimensions situate vegetarianism within contexts; internalized dimensions outline self-evaluations; and externalized dimensions describe enactments of identity through behavior. Together, these dimensions form a coherent vegetarian identity, characterizing one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding being vegetarian. By unifying dimensions that capture psychological constructs universally, the UMVI can prevent discrepancies in operationalization, capture the inherent diversity of vegetarian identities, and enable future research to generate greater insight into how people understand themselves and their food choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having a sense of purpose has been discussed as a developmental asset for youth and as an outgrowth of establishing a sense of identity. Using the identity capital model as a theoretical framework, 3 studies examined purpose as a mediator in the relationship between identity and well-being among adolescents and emerging adults. In Study 1A. (« = 110). purpose commitment was positively associated with positive affect, hope, happiness among adolescents, and fully mediated associations between identity commitment and these indices of well-being. These findings were replicated in Study IB (n = 398), with a sample of emerging adults and using different measures of well-being. In Study 2, multilevel random coefficient modeling analyses examined the role of identity and purpose in the daily lives of adolescents (n = 135). Results showed that purpose commitment fully mediated the relationship between identity and changes in daily positive and negative affect. Overall, findings suggest that cultivating a sense of purpose in life may be an important mechanism through which a stable identity contributes to well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]