Profiles of Perceived Mother-child and Father-child ... · Profiles of Perceived Mother-child and...

Profiles of Perceived Mother-child and Father-child Relationships and Identity Processes during Late

Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

L. Lannegrand-Willems1, C. Safont-Mottay2 , G. Zimmermann3 & C. Cannard4

1 Laboratory of Psychology EA4139, Univ. Bordeaux, France2 University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France3 University of Lausanne, Switzerland4 University Pierre Mendés France, CNRS UMR 5105, Grenoble, France

15th EARA 2016 Conference La Barrosa Cadiz, Spain, Sept.16-19

Symposium: Current family and parenting issues and adolescent functioning

Background

� Adolescence and emerging adulthood: 2 periods of progressivedevelopment of autonomy and identity.

� In psychosocial development, parents-child relationships continue to playan important role during adolescence and emerging adulthood,particularly for emerging adult college students (Arnett, 2000; Kins, Soenens, &Beyers, 2012; Luyckx, Schwartz, Goossens, Beyers, & Missoten, 2011).

� Parents generally stimulate identity formation through their provision ofsupport, structure and guidance. More specifically, they should ideallyprovide the security and the scaffolding necessary for their children toexplore, question and identify which goals, values, and abilities areessential to their sense of self (Rote & Smetana, 2015).

15th EARA Conference, Sept 16-19 Current family and parenting issues and adolescent functioning2

Background

� In identity formation, 2 dimensions of parent-child relationships havebeen shown as particularly relevant (Grotevant & Cooper, 1985, 1986; Beyers &

Goossens, 2008):

� security (or attachment)� autonomy support.


Background

Attachment� The affective-cognitive aspects of attachment become very important

from adolescence, such as the representations of attachment figure‘semotional availability.

� Sense of security = perceived positive experience of trust in theaccessibility and responsiveness of attachment figures (Armsden &Greenberg, 1987).� High security = adolescents who describe parental relationships characterized by

respect and involvement with minimal anger or detachment.� Low security = adolescents whose parental relationships are marked by lack of

trust and involvement with presence of anger and detachment.

� Importance of secure parental attachment for successful late adolescentdevelopment (Vivona, 2000).


Background

Parental autonomy support

� Autonomy supportive can be opposed to controlling parenting (Soenens &Vansteenkiste, 2010; Soenens & Beyers, 2012).

� Controlling parenting viewed as inhibiting adolescent’s autonomy� Psychological control refers to « parental behaviors that are intrusive and

manipulative of children’s thoughts, feelings and attachments to parents »(Barber & Harmon, 2002, p. 15).

� This way of controlling parenting, understood as parental coercion andpressure, refers to autonomy-inhibiting parenting (Soenens & Vansteenkiste,2010).

� 2 types of controlling parenting (Soenens, Vansteenkiste & Luyten, 2010, p.222):� Dependency-oriented controlling parenting (DOC), that is the “use of

psychological control as a means to keep children within close physical andemotional boundaries”

� Achievement-oriented controlling parenting (AOC), that is the “use ofpsychological control to make children comply with parental standards forachievement ”.


Aims of the study

� To identify profiles of perceived mother-child and father-childrelationships combining 2 dimensions, security and ‘autonomy-inhibitingparenting style’, that is controlling parenting (Soenens & Vansteenkiste, 2010)

during adolescence and emerging adulthood.

� To analyze their links with identity formation processes.� Identity formation according to the Dual-cycle Model (Luyckx et al., 2006, 2008):


MethodSample

� Sample

� 457 adolescents high school students (Mage= 16.84; SD = 0.87; 61.7 % women).

� 1063 emerging adults undergraduate students (Mage = 18.99; SD = 1.32; 71.8% women).


MethodInstruments

� Perceived Attachment relationships� Inventory of Parents and Peers Attachment - IPPA (Armsden & Greenberg,

1987; Vignoli & Mallet, 2004) – 3 dimensions:� Trust (4 items; e.g., “I trust my mother/ father”)

α (Mother) = .83 ; α (Father) = .86� Communication (6 items; e.g., “I tell my mother/ father about my problems

and troubles”)α (Mother) = .83 ; α (Father) = .87

� Alienation (4 items; e.g., “I feel that my mother/ father doesn’t understandme”)

α (Mother) = .69 ; α (Father) = .70

� Sense of security = Medium to high scores of Trust and Communication / Lowscore of Alienation.

� Sense of insecurity = Low scores of Trust and Communication/ Medium to highscore of Alienation (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987 ; Vivona, 2000).


MethodInstruments

� Perceived controlling parenting� Dependency-Oriented and Achievement-Oriented Psycholog ical

Control Scale - DAPCS (Soenens et al., 2010; Mantzouranis et al., 2012) – 2dimensions:

� Dependency-oriented control – DOC (8 items - e.g., “My mother/ father isonly happy with me if I rely exclusively on her/him for advice”)


� Achievement-oriented control – AOC (9 items – e.g.,“My mother/ fathermakes me feel guilty if my performance is inferior”)



MethodInstruments

� Identity formation processes� Dimensions of Identity Development Scale - DIDS (Luyckx et al., 2008;

Zimmermann, Lannegrand-Willems, Safont-Mottay & Cannard, 2015): 25 items, 5 dimensions: � Commitment Making (CM) – e.g., (“I know which direction I am going to follow

in my life”) - α = .88 .� Identification with Commitment (IC) – (e.g., “My plans for the future match

with my true interests and values” ) – α = .86.� Exploration in Breadth (EB) – (e.g., “I think about different goals that I might

pursue”) – α = .80.� Exploration in Depth (ED) – (e.g., “I think about the future plans I already

made”) – α = 61.� Ruminative Exploration (RE) – (e.g., “I worry about what I want to do with my

future”) – α = 85.


ResultsCorrelation matrix between parent-child relationships d imensions


Mother-chid relationships dimensions

2. IPPA Trust 3. IPPA Alienation 4. DOC 5. AOC

1. IPPA Communication ,714** -,508** -,033 -,319**

2. IPPA Trust -,590** -,209** -,447**

3. IPPA Alienation ,271** ,386**

4. DOC ,458**

5. AOC

** p < 0.01 Father-child relationships dimensions

2. IPPA Trust 3. IPPA Alienation 4. DOC 5. AOC

1. IPPA Communication ,658** -,421** 0,068 -,267**

2. IPPA Trust -,479** -,147** -,408**

3. IPPA Alienation ,188** ,347**

4. DOC ,503**

5. AOC

** p < 0.01

ResultsCluster analysis: two-step procedure

� 2 cluster analyses conducted separately for perceived mother andfather-child relationships with the whole sample (adolescents andemerging adults).

� 2-step procedure:� 1st step: hierarchical cluster analyses using Ward’s method with

squared Euclidean distances.

� 2nd step: iterative k-means clustering procedure using the clustercentres from Ward’s solution.


ResultsCluster analysis: Final Solution for perceived Moth er-child relationships


-2,50

-2,00

-1,50

-1,00

-,50

,00

,50

1,00

1,50

2,00

2,50

Secure - Non controlling Insecure - Non

controlling

Insecure - Achievement

controlling

Insecure - Dependency

and Achievement

controlling

Dependency controlling

IPPA Communication

IPPA Trust

IPPA Alienation

DOC

AOC

ResultsCluster analysis: Final Solution for perceived Fath er-child relationships


-1,50

-1,00

-,50

,00

,50

1,00

1,50

2,00

2,50

Secure - Non controlling Insecure - Non

controlling

Insecure - Achievement

controlling

Insecure - Dependency

and Achievement

controlling

Non controlling

IPPA Communication

IPPA Trust

IPPA Alienation

DOC

AOC

ResultsAge distribution of Mother-child relationships profil es


χ² (N = 1520, df = 4) = 38.02, p < .0001

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

40,0%

45,0%

Secure-non controlling Insecure- Non

controlling

Insecure- Achievement

controlling

Insecure Dependency

and Achievement

controlling


Adolescents

Emerging adults

ResultsAge distribution of Father-child relationships profil es


χ² (N = 1417, df = 4) = 14.56, p < .01

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

40,0%

Secure-non controlling Insecure- Non controlling Insecure- Achievement

controlling

Insecure Dependency

and Achievement

controlling

Non controlling

Adolescents

Emerging adults

ResultsMale and Female distribution of Mother-child relation ships profiles


χ² (N = 1514, df = 4) = 41.70, p < .0001

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

40,0%

45,0%


controlling

Insecure Dependency and

Achievement controlling


Males

Females

ResultsMale and Female distribution of Father-child relation ships profiles


χ² (N = 1411, df = 4) = 31.60, p < .0001

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

40,0%


controlling

Insecure Dependency and

Achievement controlling

Non controlling

Males

Females

ResultsParent-child relationships profiles and identity forma tion processes


➔ MANCOVAs with Bonferroni post-hoc tests, in order to assessdifferences in identity processes that exist between parent-childrelationships profiles according to age, while controlling for child gender.

➔ 2 MANCOVAs › Mother-child relationships profiles:

• Effect of relationships profile• No interaction effect

› Father-child relationships profiles:• Effect of relationships profile• No interaction effect

ResultsMother -child relationships profiles and identity form ation processes


EB: F (4, 1508) = 7.47, p < .0001; ƞ2 = .02ED: F (4, 1508) = 5.59, p < .0001; ƞ2 = .01CM: F (4, 1508) = 5.28, p < .0001; ƞ2 = .01IC: F (4, 1508) = 8.86, p < .0001; ƞ2 = .02RE: F (4, 1508) = 5.77, p < .0001; ƞ2 = .01

2,60

2,80

3,00

3,20

3,40

3,60

3,80

4,00

EB ED CM IC RE

Secure - Non controlling

Insecure - Non controlling

Insecure - Achievement controlling

Insecure - Dependency and Achievement

controlling


ResultsFather-child relationships profiles and identity forma tion processes


EB: F (4, 1405) = 7.56, p < .0001; ƞ2 = .02CM: F (4, 1405) = 5.99, p < .0001; ƞ2 = .02IC: F (4, 1405) = 9.32, p < .0001; ƞ2 = .03

2,60

2,80

3,00

3,20

3,40

3,60

3,80

4,00

EB ED CM IC RE

Secure - Non controlling

Insecure - Non controlling

Insecure - Achievement controlling

Insecure - Achievement and Dependency

controlling

Non controlling

DiscussionIn sum…

� Which profiles of perceived mother-child and father-childrelationships?

� 4 similar profiles related to mother-child and father-child relationships:� High sense of perceived security always combined with absence of perceived controlling

parental style� Perceived insecurity either associated with controlling parenting or no control

� A specific profile related mother-child relationships:� Dependency controlling

� A specific one related to father-child relationships:� Non controlling

� Differences according to age:� Adolescents underrepresented in Secure-Non controlling cluster

� Differences according to gender:� Males overrepresented in Insecure Achievement and Dependency controlling cluster


DiscussionIn sum…

� What links with identity formation processes?� Perceived secure non-controlling relationships by adolescent or emerging

adult individuals contribute to their identity formation.� For mother-child relationships : promote EB, CM, IC and inhibit RE� For father-child relationships : promote EB, CM and IC.

These results support the relevance of the combined analysis ofsecurity and autonomy-inhibiting support into the investigations relatedto relationships with parents, both mother and father, and their linkswith identity development.


Thank you for your attention!

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