Development of emotional autonomy from adolescence to young adulthood in Spain

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to learn whether emotional autonomy is truly part of a developmental stage for Spanish adolescents and young adults or if it is an indicator of difficult family relationships. Using a longitudinal design, a sample of ninety young people was followed for ten years, from their initial adolescence until their first years of adulthood. At four observation points, the participants completed various questionnaires to evaluate their emotional autonomy, the cohesion in their family relationships and their life satisfaction. There were no gender differences in the development of emotional autonomy. Family cohesion and life satisfaction showed significant negative associations with emotional autonomy and these associations became more pronounced as participants moved from adolescence into adulthood. Based on our results, emotional autonomy from parents does not seem to be a developmental stage taking place during adolescence, but rather, an indicator of difficult family relationships.

Young people’s experiences of parental involvement in youth sport

“…Regarding the latter meaning, parents are considered crucial in assisting children (Gullestad, 1996;Parra et al, 2015).…”

“…In the psychological sense and within the framework of family relationships, Parra, Oliva, and Sanchez-Queija (2015) argue that autonomy involves at least three dimensions: first, a young person's ability to act independently; second, a sense of competence and agency; and third, increased self-confidence and sense of individuality, as well as more symmetrical emotional bonds (p. 57). In this sense, autonomy is related to a particular cultural construction of the person as an individual and bounded unit capable of agency and decision making (cf.…”

Demanda de autonomía en la relación entre los adolescentes y sus padres: normalización del conflicto

“…Desde el análisis del ámbito afectivo, la escuela psicoanalítica entiende que para crecer en autonomía el adolescente debe romper con los vínculos infantiles y enfrentarse a sus padres, posición que ha sido ampliamente debatida (Parra, Oliva y Sánchez-Queija, 2015). Desde esta postura las discusiones familiares -el confl ictose presenta como deseable, poco menos que imprescindible.…”

Perceived Parenting Styles and Identity Development in Preadolescence

“…Respondents from rural area with authoritarian and permissive mothers had higher scores in normative style than respondents from urban settings, which indicate maybe the more restricted access to information of preadolescents from rural and more submissive attitude in their relationships with parents. Early adolescents shape their identity relying both on autonomous processing of information and on social norms imposed by parents; as Parra et al (2015) highlighted, in high cohesive families where the relationships with parents are very close, the emotional autonomy is not encouraged, and the normative style tend to develop more. Our findings may be explained also by the need of adolescents from collectivistic cultures to meet parental and social expectations (Pellerone et al, 2016).…”