Goal-Directed Correlates and Neurobiological Underpinnings of Adolescent Identity: A Multimethod Multisample Longitudinal Approach

This multimethod multisample longitudinal study examined how neurological substrates associated with goal directedness and information seeking are related to adolescents’ identity. Self-reported data on goal-directedness were collected across three biannual waves in Study 1. Identity was measured one wave later. Study 1 design and measurements were repeated in Study 2 and extended with structural brain data (nucleus accumbens [NAcc] and prefrontal cortex gray matter volume [PFC]), collected across three biannual waves. Study 1 included 497 adolescents (Mage T1 = 13.03 years) and Study 2 included 131 adolescents (Mage T1 = 14.69 years). Using latent growth curve models, goal directedness, NAcc, and PFC volume predicted a stronger identity one wave later. These findings provide crucial new insights in the underlying neurobiological architecture of identity. The title for this Special Section is The Developing Brain: Evidence for Plasticity during Childhood and Adolescence, edited by Amanda E. Guyer, Koraly Perez-Edgar, and Eveline A. Crone