The Transition to Adulthood and Family Relations

Assessment of the Familial Relationships of Young Adult Children of Separated Parents

“…Significant associations have also been observed between certain dysfunctional relational patterns that characterized the relationships of many of the children of separated parents-such as the interparental conflict (Amato & Booth, 1997;Cummings & Davies, 1994;Emery, 1999), triangulation (Afifi, 2003;Amato & Afifi, 2006;Buchanan, Maccoby, & Dornbusch, 1991, and parentification (Emery, 2008;Hetherington, 1999;Jacobvitz, Riggs, & Johnson, 1999;Minuchin, 1974;Wallerstein, 1985;Weiss, 1979)-and the children's development. Some of these relational patterns remain during young adulthood, such as the deterioration of the aforementioned parent-child relationship, triangulation (Afifi & Schrodt, 2003), and parentification (Emery, 2008;Jurkovic, Thirkield, & Morrell, 2001;Wallerstein, 1985), a fact that, as already pointed out by other authors (Amato & Sobolewsky, 2001), might represent a disadvantage both for the psychological adjustment of the young adult and for the assumption of the responsibilities typical of the transition to adulthood, such as economic independence or family formation (Scabini, Marta, & Lanz, 2006). However, practically all the studies that have analyzed the role of familial relationships in divorce cases have been based on the presence of this type of variables during childhood or adolescence, and the studies that analyze the role of this type of variables during young adulthood are almost nonexistent.…”

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

“…Other scholars have found that Italian culture places a high value on interpersonal relations and this affects parent-child interactions and parental practices (Bornstein et al 1998;Senese et al 2012). In this perspective, Scabini et al (2006) showed that the Italian family is characterized by a high degree of emotional bonding and support from both parents, yet also by restrictions to children's autonomy.…”

Stability and change of basic personal values in early adulthood: An 8-year longitudinal study

“…Our Italian sample may have experienced fewer developmental transitions due to its particular characteristics and to historical trends in Italy during the 2000 to 2008 period. Based on available demographic statistics (Italian National Institute of Statistics, 2014), on research on young Italian adults (Scabini, Marta, & Lanz, 2007), and on the sample characteristics at T1, we estimate that the large majority of respondents continued to live with their family of origin, did not marry, and did not have children during the eight years of the study. Research in samples and societies in which young adulthood is a period of greater personal and social change may reveal greater value change.…”