Self Esteem and Fear of Intimacy in Emerging Adult with Divorced Parents

Abstract

Fear of intimacy is a barrier that prevents emerging adults from having intimate relationships, especially with the opposite sex. This study aims to obtain information and determine the relationship between self-esteem and fear of intimacy in emerging adult with divorced parents. The number of participants in this study was 74 emerging adults who experienced parental divorce with an age range of 18-25 years. This study uses a quantitative research design (correlational). The scale measuring instrument used in this study is the Fear of Intimacy Scale (FIS) developed by Descutner and Thelen (1991) and the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES) developed by Rosenberg (1979). The results of this study state that there is a significant negative relationship between self- esteem and fear of intimacy in emerging adults with divorced parents. The correlation coefficient value obtained was r = -0.808 and p = 0.000 (p<.05). According to the results of the research that has been done, it can be concluded that the research hypothesis is accepted. Intercorrelation analysis data between aspects, different test, and demographic correlation test (gender and age of parental divorce) will be discussed further.