Developmental Change and Correlates of Autonomy in Asian American Adolescents

Abstract

Although establishing a sense of autonomy has been long thought to be a fundamental developmental task, there are still gaps in literature in terms of how autonomy changes over time and interacts with other important factors in adolescents' lives. In the present study, 158 (60% female; 74% second generation) Asian Americans were followed throughout high school and surveyed for self-reported autonomy, parent-child closeness, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms each year. Hierarchical linear modeling investigated whether autonomy changed over time, whether yearly changes in autonomy were related to changes in parent-child closeness, and whether both constructs were associated with adjustment. The results indicated that, although autonomy did not linearly increase over the high school years, intra-individual increases in autonomy were associated with increases in father-child closeness. Effects of mother-child closeness were similar, but only approached statistical significance. Autonomy and closeness to mother were each positively associated with self-esteem, and their interactive effect on depressive symptoms was also significant, which suggests that both autonomy and relatedness with mother are important for Asian American adolescents' psychological well-being.

Correlates of Ethnicity‐related Dating Preferences among Asian American Adolescents across the High School Years

“…Perhaps, for foreign-born adolescents, on a year in which they exhibit more closeness with their parents than their average closeness, such messages are better received, leading to a stronger link to a same-ethnic preference. However, this withinperson link could be different for adolescents born in the United States, for whom close relationships with parents could be differentially linked to expectations about dating, freedom to make one's own life decisions, and autonomy more generally (Kiang & Bhattacharjee, 2018). Collectively, these results suggest that the generational status of adolescents, especially in the context of familial relationships, may differentially impact their dating preferences.…”

Autonomy‐Supportive Parenting in Adolescence: Cultural Variability in the Contemporary United States

“…However, the extent to which parents or adolescents engage in unilateral decision making was not associated with adolescent school performance for any of the ethnic groups, consistent with the premise that PI (or at least something akin to it) might not be linked with adjustment among U.S. adolescents from ethnic minority groups. In the aforementioned study by Kiang and Bhattacharjee (), higher levels of independent decision making (a component of PI) were associated with fewer depression symptoms among adolescents only in the context of higher levels of mother–adolescent cohesion. The authors discussed these findings with recognition of the importance of considering the role of culture as a key factor that influences the parent–child relationships and autonomy development during adolescence.…”

Young People’s Autonomy and Psychological Well-Being in the Transition to Adulthood: A Pathway Analysis

“…According to the above definitions, an emerging adult able to maintain his or her autonomy and individuality in different settings will first have to be able to comprehend, analyze, and adapt to each setting (family, academic, social, other). This construct of autonomy is therefore understood from both intrasubjective and intersubjective viewpoints, as other researchers have proposed ( Arnett, 2006 ; Bekker and Van Assen, 2006 ; Inguglia et al, 2014 ; Bernal Romero et al, 2016 ; Duineveld et al, 2017 ; Kiang and Bhattacharjee, 2018 ; Ryff, 2018 ; Van Petegem et al, 2015 ).…”