The Relationship between Self-Serving Cognitive Distortions and Cultural Identity Crisis among Secondary School Students

Abstract

      Cognitive development is considered one of the most important developmental changes during adolescence. An individual's interpretation and perception of different situations determine the way he or she responds to them based on prior experiences and knowledge. When individuals possess cognitive distortions, these may lead to irrational responses. Such distortions represent illogical patterns of thinking that negatively affect an individual's ability to adapt and cope with life events,  Self-Serving Cognitive Distortions may lead students to focus selectively on negative aspects while ignoring positive ones. The formation of cultural identity is also a fundamental element in shaping the personalities of individuals and societies, as it reflects the values, traditions, and knowledge that distinguish one society from another and contributes to strengthening individuals’ sense of belonging and loyalty to their homeland,     Furthermore, a crisis in the formation of personal and cultural identity may influence how adolescents deal with social situations and may contribute to irrational decision-making, such as engaging in risky behaviors. Accordingly, the research problem can be expressed through the following questions: Is there a correlation relationship between self-serving cognitive distortions and the cultural identity crisis among secondary school students?

The present study aims to identify the following:

1. The level of Self-Serving Cognitive Distortions(self-centeredness, blaming others, minimizing/mislabeling, assuming the worst or mislabeling) among secondary school students.


2. The level of Cultural Identity Crisis among secondary school students.


3. The correlation relationship between self-serving cognitive distortions and cultural identity crisis among secondary school students.


4. Differences in the correlation relationship between self-serving cognitive distortions and cultural identity crisis among secondary school students according to the variables of gender (male–female) and academic specialization (scientific–literary).

To achieve the objectives of the present study, the researcher carried out the following procedures:

1. The researcher adopted the scale developed by Barbaree et al. (2001), which was adapted by Hussein (2025), to measure the concept of self-serving cognitive distortions. The scale consists of 39 items distributed across six domains: self-centeredness (9 items), blaming others (10 items), minimizing/mislabeling (9 items), assuming the worst or mislabeling (11 items).

The researcher developed and applied a Cultural Identity Crisis Scale based on the theory of Erik Erikson. The scale consists of 30 items distributed across three domains: cultural identity conflict, cultural identity contradiction, and strength and stability of cultural identity, with 10 items for each domain. After establishing the psychometric properties of the two scales (validity, reliability, and discriminatory power), they were administered to a sample of 200 male and female students enrolled in secondary schools affiliated with the Directorate General of Education in Baghdad / Al-Karkh Third during the 2025–2026 academic year. After collecting and analyzing the data using appropriate statistical methods, the following results were obtained:

1. There was a statistically significant difference between the sample mean scores and the theoretical mean of the self-serving cognitive distortions scale and its subscales, in favor of the sample mean. This indicates that the participants demonstrated down level of self-serving cognitive distortions.


2. There was a statistically significant difference between the sample mean scores and the hypothetical mean of the cultural identity crisis scale in favor of the sample mean, indicating that the participants exhibited a moderate level of cultural identity crisis.


3. A significant positive correlation relationship was found between self-serving cognitive distortions and cultural identity crisis among the participants. The highest correlation coefficient was observed between the domain of “assuming the worst” and the level of cultural identity crisis.

No significant differences were found in the relationship between self-serving cognitive distortions and cultural identity crisis attributable to the gender variable, whereas significant differences were found according to academic specialization, with the difference favoring the literary specialization. In conclusion, the researcher presented a number of recommendations and suggestions for future research