Sociocultural Perspectives on Adolescent Autonomy

McElhaney, Kathleen Boykin; Allen, Joseph P.

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736546.003.0011

Cited by 24 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 90 publications

(73 reference statements)

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“…Several studies have underscored that parent-child relation is affected by the tension between autonomy and relatedness both in adolescence and in emerging adulthood (Koepke and Denissen 2012;McElhaney and Allen 2012;Soenens et al 2007;Youniss and Smollar 1985). The way in which parents tend to respond to their children's strivings for autonomy has an impact on whether children are able to strengthen their sense of individuality and to establish positive and supportive bonds over time.…”

Section: The Role Of Parental Autonomy and Relatedness Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomy and Relatedness in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Relationships with Parental Support and Psychological Distress

et al. 2014

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Autonomy and relatedness are fundamental needs both in adolescence and in emerging adulthood which are affected by parental support and are linked to children's psychological distress. The study investigated autonomy and relatedness in late adolescents and emerging adults living in Italy, analyzing the relationships with perceived parental support and psychological distress. Selfreport data were collected from a sample of 325 Caucasian adolescents and emerging adults (males = 41 %) ranging in age from 17 to 26 years and living in Sicily (southern Italy). Results showed that: (a) both autonomy and relatedness were positively predicted by parental support to these needs, (b) perceived support for autonomy was positively associated with perceived support for relatedness, (c) autonomy and relatedness were positively related to each other for emerging adults, but they were not related for teens, (d) autonomy predicted negatively depression and loneliness, while relatedness predicted negatively externalizing problems (only for adolescents), stress, depression, and loneliness. Taken together, the findings confirmed that autonomy and relatedness are fundamental needs for both teens and emerging adults related to parental support and psychological health. Notwithstanding, age moderated some of the investigated relationships suggesting that autonomy and relatedness have different meanings, as well as playing different roles during adolescence and emerging adulthood.

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Section: The Role Of Parental Autonomy and Relatedness Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomy and Relatedness in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Relationships with Parental Support and Psychological Distress

et al. 2014

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“…Developmental research has shown that the interplay between autonomy and connectedness, that is, individuation, can be an important mechanism in adolescents' and emerging adults' identity formation, family and peer relationships, and mental health (Adams & Marshall, ; Grotevant, ; Grotevant & Cooper, , ; McElhaney & Allen, ). Erikson () introduced the concept of individuation when he proposed that identity formation involves developing autonomy from significant others, defining autonomy as being able to have distinctive individual characteristics separate from significant others while maintaining a connection to them.…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Connectedness refers to the need to be supported, accepted by and integrated into a larger social group and our meaningful relationships. Both autonomy and connectedness afford opportunities for personal identity exploration and a balance between the two fosters positive identity and social development (Adams & Marshall, ; Grotevant & Cooper, ; but see McElhaney & Allen, ).…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The theoretical development and empirical evidence of the individuation process has been advanced through both the identity and attachment literatures. Researchers have typically examined the interplay between autonomy and connectedness within interpersonal interactions or relationships with family and friends and identified behaviors that suggest that an adolescent or emerging adult is individuated (Allen, Hauser, Bell, & O'Connor, ; Allen, Moore, Kuperminc, & Bell, ; Grotevant, ; Grotevant & Cooper, , ; McElhaney & Allen, ). Behavior characteristics of cognitive or behavioral autonomy involve asserting one's point of view clearly, being open to others' ideas, understanding differences and similarities between one's and others' points of view, explaining and taking responsibility for one's opinions, and exhibiting confidence in one's proposals (Allen et al., , ; Grotevant & Cooper, ; McElhaney, Allen, Stephenson, & Hare, ).…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Behavior characteristics of cognitive or behavioral autonomy involve asserting one's point of view clearly, being open to others' ideas, understanding differences and similarities between one's and others' points of view, explaining and taking responsibility for one's opinions, and exhibiting confidence in one's proposals (Allen et al., , ; Grotevant & Cooper, ; McElhaney, Allen, Stephenson, & Hare, ). Behaviors that undermine autonomy include controlling behaviors such as coercing others to agree with one's point of view using undue pressure or guilt and psychological withdrawal such as recanting one's opinion without appropriate persuasion, stonewalling, or disengaging from the interaction (Allen et al., , ; McElhaney & Allen, ). Connectedness, in contrast, is shown when adolescents are responsive to and show respect for family members' and friends' views and are able to take these views into consideration when expressing their own (Grotevant & Cooper, ).…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Family Emotional Support and the Individuation Process Among Asian‐ and Latino‐Heritage College‐Going Emerging Adults

Radmacher

Azmitia

2016

J of Research on Adolesc

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This study examined whether discrepancies in emerging adults' perceptions of their own and their parents' value of education were associated with their individuation from family, and whether this relationship was mediated by family emotional support. A total of 82 Asian- and Latino-heritage emerging adults completed a survey assessing their and their parents' value of education, family emotional support, and family engagement (our proxy for individuation). As predicted, larger discrepancies in the value placed on education were associated with less family engagement; this association was mediated by emerging adults' perceptions of family emotional support. These findings suggest that family emotional support may play an important role in the individuation process of Asian- and Latino-heritage college-going emerging adults.

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Resilience and Adversity

Luthar

Crossman

Small

2015

Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science

165

192

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positive adaptation. As noted at the outset of this chapter, resilience is a phenomenon or process reflecting relatively positive adaptation despite significant adversity or trauma. Because it is a superordinate construct subsuming two distinct dimensions-adversity and positive adaptationresilience is never directly measured, but instead is indirectly inferred based on evidence of the two subsumed constructs.Adversity, in developmental science research on resilience, is defined in terms of statistical probabilities: A high-risk condition is one that carries high odds for measured maladjustment in critical domains. Exposure to maternal depression or community violence, for example, constitutes high risk because children experiencing each of these manifest significantly greater maladjustment than those who do not. Aside from discrete risk dimensions such as parent psychopathology, researchers have also examined composites of multiple risk indices, such as parents' low income and education, histories of mental illness, and disorganization in neighborhoods (Sameroff, Seifer, Zax, & Barocas, 1987). When risks such as these coexist (as they often do, in the real world), effects tend to be synergistic, with child outcomes being far poorer than when any of these risks exists in isolation.Positive adaptation, the second component in the construct of resilience, refers to adjustment that is much better than what would be expected, given exposure to the risk condition under study. In studies of resilience in childhood, this construct is most commonly operationalized in terms of behaviorally manifested social competence, or success at meeting stage-salient developmental tasks (Luthar, 2006;Masten & Tellegen, 2012). To illustrate, competence is often operationally defined in terms of observed secure attachment behaviors among young children, and in terms of positive relationships with peers and teachers, as well as good academic grades, among older children and adolescents.In addition to being developmentally appropriate, indicators used to operationalize "positive adaptation" must be of high conceptual relevance to the particular risk condition examined, in terms of both domains assessed, and stringency of criteria used. When communities carry many risks for antisocial problems, for example, it is logical to assess children's maintenance of socially conforming behaviors (Jain et al., 2012), whereas among offspring of depressed parents, the absence of depressive problems would be of special significance (Beardslee, Gladstone, & O'Connor, 2012). With regard to stringency of criteria, similarly, decisions must depend on the seriousness of the risks being studied. In research on children facing major traumas, it is appropriate to define risk-evasion in terms of the absence of serious psychopathology rather than excellence in everyday adaptation Rutter, 2012). Finally, positive child adaptation must be considered across multiple adjustment spheres; overly narrow foci on particular behaviors can be misleading in suggesting that ri...

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Sociocultural Perspectives on Adolescent Autonomy

Cited by 24 publications

References 90 publications

Autonomy and Relatedness in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Relationships with Parental Support and Psychological Distress

Autonomy and Relatedness in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Relationships with Parental Support and Psychological Distress

Family Emotional Support and the Individuation Process Among Asian‐ and Latino‐Heritage College‐Going Emerging Adults

Resilience and Adversity

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