Social identity formation (SIF) has rarely been addressed, either through analytic methods or on
through sociologically and social-psychologically mixed-methods design at multiple levels. In the
Iranian context, SIF, especially among youths, is devoid of any theoretical and functional models
capable of explaining the effects which have been hypothesized of social system’s SIF functional
deficiency. A sample of 445 students from the University of Tehran was selected in the period of
2016-2018, based on a random stratified sampling method. The participants undertook a validated
questionnaire (i.e., content and construct validity) measures through expert judgment and PFA,
delivered on a tablet. The reliability was r=0.88. A parametric one-sample Student’s t-test and
a Friedman test were employed in the analysis which suggested a functional model for SIF. The
analysis also supported both the major and minor hypotheses predicting direct effects of Iranian
social system’s functional deficiency on reducing the level of their SIF in relation to their social
system. Theoretically, the findings suggested an applied model for SIF in a mutually-implicated
interaction process with social system along with specific measurement criteria. The model, which
has seven parameters, is the product of a social system’s functional requirements, and seems to be
influential in SIF formation by social system and can provide insights for social researchers and
planners.