Emotional autonomy and adjustment among emerging adults: The moderating role of family relationships
- PMID: 32103525
- DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12614
Emotional autonomy and adjustment among emerging adults: The moderating role of family relationships
Abstract
Emerging adults build their personal maturity within the family context; however, few studies focus on the role of emotional autonomy during this stage. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between emotional autonomy and adjustment during emerging adulthood, bearing in mind the possible moderating role of parental support in this relationship. Data were collected from 1,502 Spanish undergraduate students (903 women) aged between 18 and 29. Participants completed measures of emotional autonomy (EAS, Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986), family social support (MSPSS; Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet & Farley, 1988), psychological well-being (PWBS; Ryff, Lee, Essex & Schmutte, 1995) and psychological distress (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). The results indicate that emotional autonomy correlates negatively with family support and psychological well-being and positively with psychological distress. However, only when young people perceive a family context with low social support is gaining emotional distance from their parents associated with an increase in their psychological well-being. Our findings highlight the crucial role that the family environment plays in well-being during young adulthood, and reveal that the effect of emotional distancing from parents on adjustment depends on the quality of the family climate. Future research should seek to gain greater insight into emotional autonomy during emerging adulthood, taking into account cross-cultural diversity.
Keywords: Emotional autonomy; emerging adulthood; family relationships; psychological distress; psychological well-being.
© 2020 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Similar articles
-
Development of emotional autonomy from adolescence to young adulthood in Spain.J Adolesc. 2015 Jan;38:57-67. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.11.003. Epub 2014 Dec 4. J Adolesc. 2015. PMID: 25460681
-
The Role of Parents in Emerging Adults' Psychological Well-Being: A Person-Oriented Approach.Fam Process. 2019 Dec;58(4):954-971. doi: 10.1111/famp.12388. Epub 2018 Sep 10. Fam Process. 2019. PMID: 30198562
-
Emotional autonomy redux: revisiting Ryan and Lynch.Child Dev. 1993 Apr;64(2):483-99. Child Dev. 1993. PMID: 8477630
-
A systematic review of psychosocial factors associated with emotional adjustment in in vitro fertilization patients.Hum Reprod Update. 2014 Jul-Aug;20(4):594-613. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmu010. Epub 2014 Mar 27. Hum Reprod Update. 2014. PMID: 24676468 Review.
-
Parenting, Autonomy in Learning, and Development During Adolescence in China.New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2019 Jan;2019(163):67-80. doi: 10.1002/cad.20272. Epub 2019 Jan 7. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2019. PMID: 30615264 Review.
Cited by
-
Socio-Emotional Variables Linked to the Consumption of Drugs amongst University Students of Social Sciences: A Pilot Study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 23;18(9):4502. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18094502. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021. PMID: 33922724 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Aiken, L. S. & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
-
- Albertini, M. (2010). La ayuda de los padres españoles a los jóvenes adultos. El familismo español en perspectiva comparada. [The help provided by Spanish parents to young adults. A comparative approach to Spanish familialism]. Revista de Estudios de Juventud, 90, 67-81.
-
- Allen, J. P., Hauser, S. T., Bell, K. L. & O’Connor, T. G. (1994). Longitudinal assessment of autonomy and relatedness in adolescent-family interactions as predictors of adolescent ego development and self-esteem. Child Development, 65, 179-194.
-
- Aquilino, W. S. (2006). Family relationships and support systems in emerging adulthood. In J. J. Arnet & J. Tanner (Eds.), Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st Century (pp. 193-217). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
-
- Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469-480.
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources