This study aimed to explore the longitudinal relationships among self-concept clarity, self-reflection, and counselors’ professional identity, and to examine the causal influences of these variables over time. Specifically, the study investigated wh...
This study aimed to explore the longitudinal relationships among self-concept clarity, self-reflection, and counselors’ professional identity, and to examine the causal influences of these variables over time. Specifically, the study investigated whether self-concept clarity influences self-reflection over time, and whether such self-reflection subsequently affects professional identity. Conversely, it also examined whether professional identity affects self-reflection, which in turn influences self-concept clarity. To examine these temporal and reciprocal influences, the study employed an autoregressive cross-lagged model (ARCL). Data were collected from 163 novice counselors with less than five years of clinical experience, across three time points. The findings were as follows. First, self-concept clarity, self-reflection, and professional identity all showed stable autoregressive effects across time, indicating a consistent pattern in each variable over the measured periods. Second, cross-lagged effects between self-concept clarity and self-reflection were partially significant; while self-concept clarity did not significantly predict subsequent self-reflection, self-reflection significantly and positively predicted later self-concept clarity. Third, self-reflection significantly predicted subsequent professional identity, whereas the reverse path was not significant. Fourth, most cross-lagged effects between self-concept clarity and professional identity were not significant, although self-concept clarity at Time 1 negatively predicted professional identity at Time 3. Fifth, the longitudinal mediation analysis revealed that self-reflection at Time 2 partially mediated the relationship between self-concept clarity at Time 1 and professional identity at Time 3. However, the mediating effect of self-reflection between professional identity at Time 1 and self-concept clarity at Time 3 was not significant. This study holds significance in that it empirically examined how counselors’ professional identity develops over time using an autoregressive cross-lagged model. The findings underscore the importance of self-concept clarity and self-reflection in counselor education and training, and offer both theoretical and practical implications for fostering counselors’ professional identity. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.