Future Self-Identification: Changes in Factor Structure Through College

Perception of the future self (i.e., future self-identification) is an important indicator of outcomes over time and during different life-stages (e.g., adolescence, emerging adulthood, retirement). Although recent research established that future self-identification is comprised of three distinct but interrelated factors (i.e., relatedness, positivity, and vividness of the future self), the current research was the first to consider the stability of that factor structure (i.e., factorial invariance) over extended time and over the course of a major life-stage transition. Using a longitudinal design, this research investigated (1) longitudinal factorial invariance as young adults transitioned into, and became established in, their college education and (2) explored differences in factor stability across demographic groups (i.e., sex; college generation status). Results indicated that as students progressed through their first three semesters of college, future self-identification had a stable factor structure over the short-term. However, from the first week of college to when students were established in college, strong factorial invariance (i.e., invariance of the item intercepts) did not hold. In general, there were not differences in future self-identification factor structure by sex. However, from the first year of college to the second year, strict invariance was not supported (i.e., the item residual variances were not invariant between men and women). This sex difference appeared during the first stage of the transition into college and diminished as students became established in their college career. Finally, complete factorial invariance was established between first-generation and continuing-generation college students suggesting that the future self-identification factor structure did not differ based on college generation status. Findings provide crucial information regarding the validity of mean comparisons of future self-identification across a transition into a life-stage and across demographic groups. Future research may build on this foundation to better understand the sources of factorial non-invariance.