Canonical Analysis of the Relations between Identity Styles and Self Handicapping in High School Students

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between identity styles and self-handicapping by canonical correlation analysis.

The design of the current research was descriptive-correlational and focal correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationships between two sets of predictor changes (identity styles) and criteria (dimensions of self-impairment). The statistical population of the study was high school students in Bojnourd. By multi-stage random sampling, 210 students were selected. Data collection was done with the identity styles questionnaire (Berzonsky, 1992) and the self-management scale (Jones, and Rhodewalt, 1982). Data analysis was done with Pearson correlation coefficient and focal correlation using SPSS.27 software.

Findings from the analyses indicated a significant relationship between identity styles and self-handicapping dimensions. The common variance of identity styles and self-handicapping was 28%. In the function of identity styles, informational identity was most important (0.81) and in the function of self-handicapping, it was assigned to claim self-handicapping (-0.99).

In general, the processing of identity information can impact the use of self-handicapping strategies, and teenagers with an informational and normative identity and a high identity commitment use less self-handicapping behaviors.