Reconceptualizing the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity: The Role of Meaning-Making Capacity in the Construction of Multiple Identities

Journal of College Student Development, Jan/Feb 2007 by Abes, Elisa S, Jones, Susan R, McEwen, Marylu K

We reconceptualize Jones and McEwen's (2000) model of multiple dimensions of identity by incorporating meaning making, based on the results of Abes and Jones's (2004) study of lesbian college students. Narratives of three students who utilize different orders of Kegan's (1994) meaning making (formulaic, transitional, and foundational, as described by Baxter Magolda, 2001) illustrate how meaning-making capacity interacts with the influences of context on the perceptions and salience of students multiple social identities. Implications for theory, research, and professional practice are discussed.

Recent scholarship in the area of college student identity development has begun to address the complexities of the relationships among three primary domains of development: interpersonal, intrapersonal, and cognitive (e.g., Baxter Magolda, 2001; King & Baxter Magolda, 2005; Torres & Baxter Magolda, 2004). Within the intrapersonal domain, the model of multiple dimensions of identity (Jones & McEwen, 2000) provided one of the first conceptualizations of relationships among social identities (e.g., race, gender, social class, sexual orientation), as well as between personal identity and social identities. Although acknowledged as a contribution to a more complex understanding of identity (e.g., Chavez, Guido-DiBrito, & Mallory, 2003; Davis, 2002; Stevens, 2004), the model does not incorporate other domains such as cognitive development. Abes and Jones (2004), however, in a study of lesbian identity development and meaning making, applied the model of multiple dimensions of identity in conjunction with constructivist-developmental theory. The purpose of this article is to propose, based on Abes and Jones's study, a more complex conceptualization of the model of multiple dimensions of identity that integrates intersecting domains of development.

Because the focus of our work is on developing a more complex conceptualization of the multiple identities model, we position this study within contemporary theorizations of multiple and intersecting identities. To do so, we provide an overview of identity as social construction, feminist and postmodern conceptualizations of intersectionality, and the model of multiple dimensions of identity. We then explore Kegan's (1994) theory of lifespan development and Baxter Magolda's (2001) research on young adult development toward self-authorship, which is incorporated into our reconceptualization of the multiple identities model.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY

Weber (1998) identified social constructionism as a common theme within scholarship exploring relationships among race, class, gender, and sexuality. A social constructionist perspective on identity challenges the essentialist position that reifies dominant-subordinate binaries presumed to be grounded in biology (e.g., White-non-White, men-women, heterosexual-homosexual; Weber). Instead, social constructionism considers identity to be socially, historically, politically, and culturally constructed at both the institutional and individual levels (Omi & Winant, 1994; Weber). The meaning of social identities cannot be fully captured as they change with evolving contexts and relationships (Omi & Winant). Although essentialism provided the basis for much of the earlier research and resulting theoretical perspectives on student development, contemporary student affairs researchers are increasingly relying on social constructionism as they explore the meanings of identity (McEwen, 2003).

CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF INTERSECTIONALITY

Feminist Conceptualizations

Much of the theorizing on multiple identities developed in women's studies literature, often through personal narratives (Weber, 1998). A significant body of this literature grew out of Black feminist scholarship that challenged feminism's Eurocentric assumptions (e.g., hooks, 1984; Smith, 1982). This feminist literature introduced a "framework of intersectionality" that recognized how socially constructed identities are experienced simultaneously, not hierarchically (McCann & Kim, 2002, p. 150). Collins (1990) termed this framework a "matrix of domination" and explained that viewing relationships from an intersecting perspective "expands the focus of analysis from merely describing the similarities and differences distinguishing these systems of oppression and focuses greater attention on how they interconnect" (p. 222).

Autobiographical narratives from two feminist scholars, Lorde (1984) and Anzaldua (1999), illustrated a wholeness associated with integrating multiple identity dimensions within a matrix of domination. Lorde, a "Black lesbian feminist socialist mother of two . . . and a member of an interracial couple" (p. 114), explained that her "fullest concentration of energy is available . . . only when I integrate all the parts of who I am ... without die restrictions of externally imposed definition" (pp. 120-121). Discussing her experiences as a Mexican American lesbian, a mestiza, Anzaldua offered her theory of mestiza consciousness, or her ability to bring together multiple identities into a new, integrated identity where "the self has added a third element which is greater than the sum of its severed parts. That element is a new consciousness" (pp. 101-102).