Examination of the Relationships Between Parents and Their Emerging Adult Children:

Abstract

The present study focused on the psychological independence and the intimacy of relationships between parents and their children who were emerging adults, in order to obtain information on differences among the dyads. The participants (university students) completed questionnaires. In Study 1, a parent-child psychological independence scale and a parent-child intimacy scale were developed. Study 2, which examined differences in the scores on subscale of those scales, revealed that the mother-daughter relationships had the highest scores on reliability and intimacy. In addition, the daughters were individuated from their fathers in most of the dyads. In Study 3, the correlation between psychological independence and intimacy showed that the mechanism for developing trust in one's parents was different among the dyads. Study 4 examined the relationship between a 4-category model of parent-child relationships (dependent conflict, detached, connected, and independent) and self-esteem, autonomy, and proactivity. The emerging adults' independence from their fathers was related to their being more adaptive and more developed. A significant gender difference was found in self-esteem. These data indicated that the daughters who were independent without developing trust in their mothers reported lower self-esteem.