Abstract
For emerging adults, the development of psychosocial intimacy may be a key developmental task shaped by past parenting. In this study, 232 emerging adult, college students completed a questionnaire about their intimacy development, identity development, self-efficacy in romantic relationships, parenting (i.e., attachment styles, parental caring and overprotection, and parental challenge), and well-being (i.e, depressive symptoms, loneliness, happiness, and self-esteem). Findings indicate that identity development, low attachment avoidance, and self-efficacy in romantic relationships predicted intimacy development. Furthermore, those individuals with high intimacy have less loneliness, greater self-esteem, and more happiness than those with low intimacy. Achieving psychosocial intimacy may have benefits for well-being.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469.
Arnett, J. J. (2007). Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for? Child Development Perspectives, 1, 68–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.x.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W H Freeman/Times Books/Henry Holt & Co.
Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226–244. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.61.2.226.
Beyers, W., & Seiffge-Krenke, I. (2010). Does identity precede intimacy? testing Erikson’s theory on romantic development in emerging adults of the 21st century. Journal of Adolescent Research, 25, 387–415. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558410361370.
Birnbaum, G. E. (2007). Attachment orientations, sexual functioning, and relationship satisfaction in a community sample of women. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 24, 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407507072576.
Boden, J. S., Fischer, J. L., & Niehuis, S. (2010). Predicting marital adjustment from young adults’ initial levels and changes in emotional intimacy over time: A 25-year longitudinal study. Journal of Adult Development, 17, 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-009-9078-7.
Crawford, T. N., Cohen, P., Johnson, J. G., Sneed, J. R., & Brook, J. S. (2004). The course and psychosocial correlates of personality disorder symptoms in adolescence: Erikson’s developmental theory revisited. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 373–387. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOYO.0000037631.87018.9d.
Cui, M., Fincham, F. D., & Pasley, B. K. (2008). Young adult romantic relationships: The role of parents’ marital problems and relationship efficacy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1226–1235. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208319693.
Dailey, R. M. (2008). Parental challenge: Developing and validating a measure of how parents challenge their adolescents. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25, 643–669. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407508093784.
Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 487–496. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.113.3.487.
Donnellan, M. B., Larsen-Rife, D., & Conger, R. D. (2005). Personality, family history, and competence in early adult romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 562–576. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.562.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Erikson, E. H. (1980). Identity and the life cycle. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.
Fraley, R. C., Davis, K. E., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Dismissing-avoidance and the defensive organization of emotion, cognition, and behavior. In J. A. Simpson, W. S. Rholes, J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 249–279). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Fraley, R. C., Heffernan, M. E., Vicary, A. M., & Brumbaugh, C. C. (2011). The experiences in close relationships—Relationship Structures Questionnaire: A method for assessing attachment orientations across relationships. Psychological Assessment, 23, 615–625. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022898.
Girme, Y. U., Overall, N. C., Simpson, J. A., & Fletcher, G. O. (2015). ‘All or nothing’: Attachment avoidance and the curvilinear effects of partner support. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108, 450–475. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038866.
Havighurst, R. J. (1972). Developmental tasks and education. Edinburgh, UK: Longman.
Hudson, N. W., & Fraley, R. C. (2017). Adult attachment and perceptions of closeness. Personal Relationships, 24, 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12166.
Johnson, M. D., & Galambos, N. L. (2014). Paths to intimate relationship quality from parent–adolescent relations and mental health. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(1), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12074.
Johnson, H. D., Kent, A., & Yale, E. (2012). Examination of identity and romantic relationship intimacy associations with well-being in emerging adulthood. Identity: An International Journal of Theory And Research, 12, 296–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2012.716381.
Karre, J. K. (2015). Fathering behavior and emerging adult romantic relationship quality: Individual and constellations of behavior. Journal of Adult Development, 22, 148–158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-015-9208-3.
Lopez, F. G., Morúa, W., & Rice, K. G. (2007). Factor structure, stability, and predictive validity of college students’ relationship self-efficacy beliefs. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 40, 80–96.
Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006824100041.
Maccoby, E. E., & Martin, J. A. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: Parent-child interaction. In Mussen, P. H.(Series Ed.), Hetherington, E. M. (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Socialization, personality, and social development Vol. 4 (pp. 1–101). New York, NY: Wiley.
Marcia, J., & Josselson, R. (2013). Eriksonian personality research and its implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Personality, 81, 617–629. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12014.
McKinney, C., Morse, M., & Pastuszak, J. (2016). Effective and ineffective parenting: Associations with psychological adjustment in emerging adults. Journal of Family Issues, 37, 1203–1225. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X14537480.
Michałek, J. (2016). Relations with parents and identity statuses in the relational domain in emerging adults. Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 4, 146–154. https://doi.org/10.5114/cipp.2016.61757.
Montgomery, M. J. (2005). Psychosocial intimacy and identity: From early adolescence to emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 346–374. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558404273118.
Moore, S., & Bolero, J. (1991). Psychosocial development and friendship functions in adolescence. Sex Roles, 25, 521–536. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00290061.
Nelson, L. J., Padilla-Walker, L., Christensen, K. J., Evans, C. A., & Carroll, J. S. (2011). Parenting in emerging adulthood: An examination of parenting clusters and correlates. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 730–743. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9584-8.
Openshaw, D. K., Thomas, D. L., & Rollins, B. C. (1984). Parental influences of adolescent self-esteem. Journal of Early Adolescence, 4, 259–274.
Parker, G., Tupling, H., & Brown, L. B. (1979). A parental bonding instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8341.1979.tb02487.x.
Pittman, J. F., Keiley, M. K., Kerpelman, J. L., & Vaughn, B. E. (2011). Attachment, identity, and intimacy: Parallels between bowlby’s and erikson’s paradigms. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 3, 32–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-2589.2010.00079.x.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306.
Riggio, H. R., Weiser, D. A., Valenzuela, A. M., Lui, P. P., Montes, R., & Heuer, J. (2013). Self-efficacy in romantic relationships: Prediction of relationship attitudes and outcomes. The Journal of Social Psychology, 153, 629–650. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2013.801826.
Riggio, H. R., Weiser, D., Valenzuela, A., Lui, P., Montes, R., & Heuer, J. (2011). Initial validation of a measure of self-efficacy in romantic relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 601–606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.05.026.
Rodriguez, C. M., Tucker, M. C., & Palmer, K. (2016). Emotion regulation in relation to emerging adults’ mental health and delinquency: A multi-informant approach. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 1916–1925. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0349-6.
Rollins, P., Williams, A., & Sims, P. (2017). Family dynamics: Family-of-origin cohesion during adolescence and adult romantic relationships. Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-017-9430-1.
Russell, D. W. (1996). UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66, 20–40. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6601_2.
Rosenberg, M. (1989). Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
Rosenthal, D. A., Gurney, R. M., & Moore, S. M. (1981). From trust to intimacy: A new inventory for examining Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10, 525–537. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02087944.
Sanford, K. (1997). Two dimensions of adult attachment: Further validation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 14, 133–143. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407597141008.
Schachner, D. A., & Shaver, P. R. (2004). Attachment dimensions and sexual motives. Personal Relationships, 11, 179–195. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2004.00077.x.
Schwartz, S. J. (2007). The structure of identity consolidation: Multiple correlated constructs of one superordinate construct? Identity: An International Journal of Theory And Research, 7, 27–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283480701319583.
Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., Ravert, R. D., Kim, S. Y., Weisskirch, R. S., Williams, M. K., & Finley, G. E. (2009). Perceived parental relationships and health-risk behaviors in college-attending emerging adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 727–740. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00629.x.
Shulman, S., & Connolly, J. (2013). The challenge of romantic relationships in emerging adulthood: Reconceptualization of the field. Emerging Adulthood, 1, 27–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696812467330.
Simonelli, L. E., Ray, W. J., & Pincus, A. L. (2004). Attachment models and their relationships with anxiety, worry, and depression. Counseling and Clinical Psychology Journal, 1, 107–118.
Simons, L. G., Burt, C. H., & Tambling, R. B. (2013). Identifying mediators of the influence of family factors on risky sexual behavior. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22, 460–470. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-012-9598-9.
Sneed, J. R., Whitbourne, S. K., Schwartz, S. J., & Huang, S. (2012). The relationship between identity, intimacy, and midlife well-being: Findings from the Rochester Adult Longitudinal Study. Psychology and Aging, 27, 318–323. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026378.
Tan, R., Overall, N. C., & Taylor, J. K. (2012). Let’s talk about us: Attachment, relationship‐focused disclosure, and relationship quality. Personal Relationships, 19, 521–534. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2011.01383.x.
Tracy, J. L., Shaver, P. R., Albino, A. W., & Cooper, M. L. (2003). Attachment styles and adolescent sexuality. In P. Florsheim & P. Florsheim (Eds.), Adolescent romantic relations and sexual behavior: Theory, research, and practical implications (pp. 137–159). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Weiser, D. A., & Weigel, D. J. (2016). Self-efficacy in romantic relationships: Direct and indirect effects on relationship maintenance and satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 89, 152–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.10.013.
Whitbourne, S. K., & Tesch, S. A. (1985). A comparison of identity and intimacy statuses in college students and alumni. Developmental Psychology, 21, 1039–1044. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.21.6.1039.
Author Contributions
R.S.W. designed and executed the study, completed the data analyses, and wrote the manuscript and its revisions.
Funding
This study received no funding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Robert S. Weisskirch declares that he has no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects at California State University, Monterey Bay approved the protocol of this study.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Weisskirch, R.S. Psychosocial Intimacy, Relationships with Parents, and Well-being among Emerging Adults. J Child Fam Stud 27, 3497–3505 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1171-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1171-8