Although race and parental attachment are concepts that have been widely researched, few studies have explored how these variables manifest themselves among women or influence their adjustment to college. This study examined how parental attachment effected college adjustment among White, Black, and Latina/Hispanic women attending an urban…

College students completed measures of separation-individuation and college adjustment as first-year students (n=130) and again as juniors (n=81). Revealed significant increases in individuation from parents over time along most, but not all, dimensions of individuation. Gender-specific patterns were found. In general, independence from parents in…

Describes the development of the Psychological Separation Inventory and defines four discrete scales reflecting psychological separation: functional, emotional, conflictual, and attitudinal. A study of 150 college students showed conflictual independence was related to personal adjustment, particularly love relationships, while emotional…

Secure parental attachment and healthy levels of separation-individuation have been consistently linked to greater college student adjustment. The present study proposes that the relation between parental attachment and college adjustment is mediated by healthy separation-individuation. The authors gathered data on maternal and paternal…

Research has consistently shown parents' nurturance, acceptance, affection, support, and attention to be positively related to their children's self-esteem. Absent in these investigations of the relationship between parental nurturance and self-esteem, however, has been a consideration of whether the nurturance bases upon which these…

Proposed and tested model for predicting college students' (n=224) identity. Sequentially considered information on students' reported conflictual independence from parents and their current mood states and generalized self-efficacy. Model explained significant variance in criterion measure for both sexes; respective contributions of model…

Assessed the impact of difficulty forming an occupational dream and relating to parents on depression among college students (N=64). Results suggested that having to give up a valued dream, viewing one's relation to mother as authority-obeyer, and doing little exploring of occupational choices are related significantly to depression. (LLL)

Explored constancy and change in emotional and interactional components of parent-child relationships from middle adolescence to young adulthood among 133 participants from New York Longitudinal Study. Found moderately high mean relationship ratings at each point of measurement, moderate levels of stability, and widely varying correlations among…

Assessed identification with same-sex parent and decision-making style for late adolescents classified by Marcia's (1964) criteria as identity achieved, foreclosed, moratorium, or diffused. Foreclosed subjects were more impulsive, male moratorium subjects more reflective, female moratoriums more impulsive, and diffuseds more reflective, than…

This study examines whether responses to questions concerning teenage sexual activity and teenage pregnancy differ by gender and by the marital status of the respondent's parents. A questionnaire was completed by 231 students attending a college in the Midwest. A number of significant differences were found in the analysis. Subjects from intact…

Surveyed 186 college students to determine their views of the key indicators of having left home. Data suggested that the most important indicator of parent-adolescent separation was establishing more personal control. Economic independence and other modes of home leaving were rated similarly by males and females. (JAC)

This manual presents a developmentally focused group intervention, ("But Mom (Dad) - I'm an Adult Now") developed by the Student Counseling Center at Illinois State University for college students who are having difficulty establishing autonomy from their family of origin. The group uses a condition of didactic presentations,…

Investigated the relationships between parental separation anxiety and adolescent identity development in a longitudinal study of first-year college students and seniors. Found that mothers' need to provide security influenced their adolescents' identity achievement, while father's anxiety about distancing had negative and positive consequences…

Examined how women's reconstruction of various family patterns during childhood and adulthood relate to levels of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. Found that women who recalled cross-generational alliances or triangulated family patterns, and whose parents were emotionally distant, were more at risk for depression, anxiety, and low…