ABSTRACT
Parents of adolescents commonly face separation-related issues associated with children's increasing independence and imminent leave-taking. The aims of this investigation were (1) to develop a reliable and valid measure of parental emotions associated with separation and (2) to validate the measure by relating it to other attributes (attachment relationship quality, parent-child communication, and parent-adolescent differentiation) assessed in mothers, fathers, and their adolescents. The newly constructed, 35-item Parents of Adolescents Separation Anxiety Scale (PASAS) was administered to 686 parents of teenagers in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 or college-bound freshmen and seniors. Factor analyses supported formation of two subscales: Anxiety about Adolescent Distancing (AAD) and Comfort with Secure Base Role (CSBR); both subscales showed distinctive patterns of change with child age. Parents' reports indicated that healthy adult attachment styles were associated with lower AAD and higher CSBR scores; children of parents who had higher AAD scores reported lower quality of attachment to both mothers and fathers.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Behavior/psychology , Anxiety, Separation/epidemiology , Anxiety, Separation/psychology , Parent-Child Relations , Parents/psychology , Psychological Theory , Surveys and Questionnaires , Adolescent , Conflict, Psychological , Factor Analysis, Statistical , Female , Humans , Male , Object Attachment , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
This study had three main objectives. The first was an attempt to clarify inconsistencies in research on family characteristics and identity formation. The second was to test a model that has been discussed over the past several years based on Bowen's intergenerational family systems theory. Finally, gender differences were explored within the models hypothesized. The models included family differentiation variables, sex role orientation and adolescent identity development. The path models that included mother/adolescent and father/adolescent differentiation, masculinity and femininity scales, and ideological and interpersonal identity achievement in separate analyses were tested using LISREL VII. The results suggested that interpersonal and ideological identity domains were differentially related to differentiation in the family system and sex role orientation. There were also gender differences. These results are discussed in relation to previous research evidence about family characteristics that best support identity achievement for males and females.
Subject(s)
Gender Identity , Identification, Psychological , Parent-Child Relations , Psychology, Adolescent , Achievement , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Models, Psychological , Personality Inventory , Self Concept , Sex Factors , Social Adjustment , Students/psychologyABSTRACT
This study examined Erikson's psychosocial crises of identity versus identity diffusion and intimacy versus isolation, focusing specifically on how sex-role orientation contributes to gender differences in the resolution of these two crises. Perceptions of competence in self-disclosure and emotional support in both same-sex friendships and relationships with heterosexual dating partners, along with achievement of ideological and interpersonal identity, were included in the study so that differences could be examined. First-year and fourth-year college students (n = 135) at a large midwestern university responded to measures assessing identity, capacity for intimacy, and sex-role orientation. When controlling for sex-role orientation, the relationship between identity and intimacy was nonsignificant for men but significant for women.
Subject(s)
Gender Identity , Identity Crisis , Interpersonal Relations , Adolescent , Adult , Courtship , Female , Humans , Male , Personality Development , Self Disclosure , Social SupportABSTRACT
The major objective of this article is to demonstrate a data analysis technique--confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling--that can be used when the researcher has multiple perspectives on the same variables. The present data set was constructed from two samples that contained information collected on adolescents', mothers', and fathers' perspectives on family differentiation levels as measured by the Differentiation in the Family System Scale (DIFS; Anderson & Sabatelli, 1992). Results of the combined sample confirmatory factor analysis procedures indicated that the family members' perspectives converged and could be used as a single latent variable. The methodological implications of these findings are discussed.