Psychological Separation and Adjustment to University: Moderating ...

10.1177/0743558403253812 JOURNAL Beyers, Goossens OF ADOLESCENT / PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH SEPARATION / July 2003AND ADJUSTMENT

ARTICLE

Psychological Separation and Adjustment to University: Moderating Effects of Gender, Age, and Perceived Parenting Style Wim Beyers Luc Goossens Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium Examined in this article is the association between psychological separation and adjustment to university in a sample of 969 late adolescents. Structural equations modeling confirmed the existence of two dimensions of psychological separation, namely independence from parents and positive separation feelings. Results indicated that both dimensions of psychological separation positively predicted better adjustment to university, but that positive separation feelings clearly were the better predictor. None of these associations was moderated by students’ grade level or gender or by their parents’ perceived parenting style. In the total sample, independence from parents was associated with lower levels of positive separation feelings. This association was, however, moderated by students’ grade, gender, and parents’ perceived parenting style. The negative relationship between the two dimensions of psychological separation only held for freshmen and junior students, females, and students reared by authoritarian parents. Implications of these findings for current understanding of the separation-adjustment link and for counseling college students are discussed. Keywords: psychological separation; emotional autonomy; adjustment to college; college students; moderator effects

A recent issue of the Journal of Adolescent Research (Adams, 2000) indicated renewed attention for late adolescents’ transition to university and their adjustment to the new university environment. Although a majority of Portions of the findings described in this article were presented at the Seventh Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA), San Diego, California, in February 1998. The authors are greatly indebted to the students for their participation in this study and to Alfons Marcoen for his help in translating the measures. Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to the first author at the following address: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Center for Developmental Psychology, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium; e-mail: [email protected].

Journal of Adolescent Research, Vol. 18 No. 4, July 2003 363-382 DOI: 10.1177/0743558403253812 © 2003 Sage Publications 363

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students adjusts relatively well to this new environment, for others this transition entails some degree of personal stress and emotional maladjustment. This variability in adjustment to university could be explained by different factors, such as personality factors (Wintre & Sugar, 2000). In recent research, particular attention was paid to the association between university adjustment and students’ relationships with their parents (e.g., Wintre & Yaffe, 2000). The level of independence or autonomy that late adolescents developed vis-à-vis parents was a central aspect of that relationship. Developing independence and self-governance is viewed by many authors as a key developmental task in early and middle adolescence (Blos, 1979; Steinberg, 1995). Independence is, however, also an issue in late adolescence and young adulthood. Going to university in particular may be an experience to which adolescents respond by growing increasingly independent from their parents (Sullivan & Sullivan, 1980). To measure independence among university students, Hoffman (1984) developed the Psychological Separation Inventory (PSI). Four subscales describe the student’s experience of separation in a multidimensional framework. Conflictual independence assesses the adolescent’s freedom from anger, guilt, resentment, and mistrust of parents. Functional independence measures the adolescent’s ability to manage practical and personal affairs without soliciting parental help. Emotional independence taps the adolescent’s freedom from excessive needs for parental approval, closeness, and emotional support. Finally, attitudinal independence measures the extent to which adolescents show attitudes and values that are distinct from those of their parents. Several studies showed that conflictual independence was generally not correlated to the other PSI subscales, which were intercorrelated positively. Psychological Separation and College Adjustment Most of the researchers who used the PSI as an index of adolescent separation-individuation studied its relationship with students’ adjustment to college. With few exceptions (Lopez, Campbell, & Watkins, 1986), a highly significant and positive relationship was found between conflictual independence and various aspects of adjustment to college, such as academic and personal-emotional adjustment, both in concurrent and longitudinal analyses (Haemmerlie, Steen, & Benedicto, 1994; Hoffman, 1984; Hoffman & Weiss, 1987; Lapsley, Rice, & Shadid, 1989; Lopez, Campbell, & Watkins, 1988; Palladino & Blustein, 1994a; Rice, 1992; Rice, Cole, & Lapsley, 1990). A mixed pattern of relationships with college adjustment was, however, found for functional, emotional, and attitudinal independence. Although

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Lapsley et al. (1989) found a positive association between functional and emotional independence and adjustment to college, a moderate negative relationship was reported by Rice et al. (1990) and again by Rice (1992). A negative association between attitudinal independence and adjustment to college was reported by Palladino and Blustein (1994a). A General Model of the Separation-Adjustment Link A potential way to solve this inconsistency could be to concentrate, through factor analysis, on what the various PSI subscales have in common. The underlying dimensions of the PSI may well show more robust associations with adjustment to university in what might be called a general model of the separation-adjustment link. One such model was presented and tested by Rice et al. (1990). They showed that different measures of separationindividuation (including the PSI) were tapping different dimensions of individuation. Two factors, positive separation feelings and independence from parents, emerged from both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Regarding the PSI subscales, functional, emotional, and attitudinal independence were indicators of independence from parents, and conflictual independence was an indicator of positive separation feelings. Both factors predicted adjustment to university, but the positive separation feelings factor had the highest predictive power. The two dimensions of individuation in late adolescence were correlated moderately positive. Up to now, however, it is unclear whether the model of Rice et al. (1990) holds throughout different contexts. Moderators of the Separation-Adjustment Link Some authors have suggested that the separation-adjustment link holds only for particular subgroups of college students. In technical terms, these authors state that the association between the two aspects of psychological separation and college adjustment takes on a different form depending on the value of a third variable, a moderator variable (Baron & Kenny, 1986). Likely candidates for such a moderator role are the student’s grade level, gender, and the overall quality of his or her family context. This examination of moderator effects in the separation-adjustment link must clearly be differentiated from the study of possible mediator effects that gained popularity in recent research on this topic (Boles, 1999; Wintre & Yaffe, 2000). Moderator analyses examine how psychological separation works by testing whether the effect of separation on adolescent adjustment takes on a different form depending on, say, the parenting style adopted by

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the students’ parents. Mediator analyses, by contrast, exemplify how parenting works by showing that parenting style has an indirect effect on students’ adjustment through students’ psychological separation from parents. Regarding grade level, Lapsley et al. (1989) suggested that psychological separation does not act as a significant predictor of academic adjustment among freshmen but does so among upperclassmen. With respect to gender, Lapsley et al. reported that although women might be more psychologically dependent on parents than are men, no significant differences emerged between men and women in the correlations between psychological separation and adjustment to college. Other studies (e.g., Lopez et al., 1986; Palladino & Blustein, 1994a; Rice, 1992) clearly indicated, however, that the importance of separation as a correlate of adjustment varies between men and women. Finally, it might be hypothesized that the separation-adjustment link is moderated by family context and by students’attachment to parents in particular. This hypothesis has not yet been put to an empirical test. Several authors have argued, however, that individuation and connectedness are not in opposition. Rice et al. (1990) reported a negative correlation between family cohesion and general independence. They concluded that moderate rather than complete disengagement from the family is necessary to develop independence. Josselson (1988) argued that adolescents who are securely attached to their parents are better able to separate from them and to adapt to new situations. Among early adolescents, higher levels of emotional autonomy in the relationship with parents (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986) were associated with better psychosocial adjustment but only in the context of a highly supportive and warm family climate (Lamborn & Steinberg, 1993). Kenny (1987) argued that adolescents who are securely attached to their parents are better able to adjust to the new college environment and the separation experience that is part of this transition. These results and theoretical views suggest that it is important to consider the broader family context when studying students’ adjustment to college. The Present Study In this article, the theoretical model of Rice et al. (1990) was tested in a large sample of European university students. The article expands on the available literature in two ways: (a) A second measure of psychological separation was used in addition to Hoffman’s (1984) PSI to broaden the conceptualization of psychological independence among college students; and (b) direct tests of the moderator hypothesis were performed for potential moderators of the separation-adjustment link: grade, gender, and family context.

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Psychological separation was operationalized using both Hoffman’s (1984) PSI and the Emotional Autonomy Scale (EAS) (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986). The latter scale was believed to assess another aspect of independence in late adolescence. Emotional autonomy refers to the perception the adolescent holds about his or her parents rather than the adolescent’s actual behavior. Emotional autonomy was defined by Steinberg and Silverberg as the degree to which adolescents have relinquished childish dependencies on and infantile perceptions of their parents. Frank, Pirsch, and Wright (1990) showed in a sample of undergraduates that greater deidealization of the parents, an important aspect of emotional autonomy, was associated with greater psychological well-being. The broader family context was defined as the process of parenting as perceived by the adolescent. Different dimensions of this parenting process were measured, namely perceived support and acceptance, firm control, and psychological control. These aspects define different parenting styles (Smetana, 1995; Steinberg, 1990). Parenting style was supposed to moderate the relationship between psychological separation and adjustment to university. Therefore, different parenting style groups were formed by using a clusteringby-cases procedure, and separate analyses in each of these groups examined the association between different aspects of psychological separation and adjustment to university. The following hypotheses were tested: Using subscales of the PSI (Hoffman, 1984) and the EAS (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986), at least two different dimensions of individuation in late adolescence should be distinguished, namely independence from parents and positive separation feelings. These dimensions were expected to be correlated moderately positive. Positive-separation feelings were expected to emerge as a stronger predictor of better adjustment to college than was independence from parents. The association between psychological separation and adjustment to college was expected to be moderated by students’ grade, gender, and perceived parenting style. More specifically, it was hypothesized that the separation-adjustment link would be more pronounced among older students (Lapsley et al., 1989), females (Lopez et al., 1986), and students raised by parents who used a supportive parenting style (Kenny, 1987). The association between independence from parents and positive separation feelings was also expected to be moderated by students’ grade, gender, and perceived parenting style. Given the limited literature on this specific topic, however, it was unclear what the specific meaning of these moderating effects might be.

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METHOD Participants The sample comprised 969 late-adolescent students from a university in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium (Europe). This university mainly attracts White students with a middle-class background. All students were enrolled in the psychology or educational sciences programs. In Belgium, these programs take 5 years of study. A large part of the fifth and final year consists of an internship in a clinical setting or in a research project. A breakdown by grade and gender yielded 574 freshmen (456 females and 118 males), 206 juniors (153 females and 53 males), and 189 interns (155 females and 34 males). Mean ages for these groups were 18 years and 8 months (SD = 6.7 months), 20 years and 7 months (SD = 6.2 months), and 22 years and 8 months (SD = 6.4 months). The unbalanced distributions of grade and gender in this sample mirror the distributions in the student population of the faculty. A large majority of the students (89%) came from intact families. The majority of students in the sample (87%) rented a room in the city where the university is located and returned home to their parents every weekend. Although this percentage of students living at home during the weekends is high, it should be noted that students commuting to university have also become the norm in North America (Wintre & Yaffe, 2000). Measures Most of the instruments used were originally developed in English and were translated into Dutch for the present study. Both of us made an independent translation of these scales and agreed on a common version following discussion. This preliminary version was then double-checked by a third person with a Ph.D. in developmental psychology. Psychological separation. Two measures of adolescent psychological separation were used in this study. The PSI, which was described earlier on, has acceptable internal consistency and stability over a 3-week interval (Hoffman, 1984). The PSI subscales have been studied in relation with several measures of late-adolescent adjustment, including eating disorders and weight preoccupation (e.g., Skowron & Friedlander, 1994), ego identity development (e.g., Palladino & Blustein, 1994b), and career orientation (e.g., O’Brien, 1996; Rainey & Borders, 1997). Instead of using separate versions for mother and father with 138 items in all, we used a version of the PSI referring to both parents for this study. Rice et

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al. (1990) already suggested that composite scores could be derived from the PSI by combining mother- and father-separation scores within each independence dimension. Furthermore, the high correlations between father and mother scales in different studies (e.g., Hoffman, 1984; O’Brien, 1996; Palladino & Blustein, 1994a) are causing problems of multicolinearity in the prediction of the dependent variables. In short, a 69-item, self-report questionnaire assessing conflictual (25 items; alpha = .90 in this study), functional (13 items; alpha = .80), emotional (17 items; alpha = .83), and attitudinal independence (14 items; alpha = .85) in the relationship with parents was used in this study. Students rated all items on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The EAS (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986) comprises 20 items answered on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. A high score on the scale is thought to be indicative of greater emotional autonomy. The EAS and its subscales have been studied in relation with several measures of psychological adjustment (e.g., Beyers & Goossens, 1999; Chen & Dornbusch, 1998; Fuhrman & Holmbeck, 1995; Lamborn & Steinberg, 1993), but it has been criticized for measuring emotional detachment from parents rather than emotional autonomy (Ryan & Lynch, 1989). In a previous study (Beyers, Goossens, & Van Calster, 2000), a two-factor structure of the EAS was obtained. Emotional autonomy (12 items; alpha = .88) is determined by those items of the original EAS that really measure the extent to which adolescents have relinquished childish dependencies on and infantile representations of their parents. Cognitive detachment (8 items; alpha = .72) is determined by those items from the EAS that measure the perception of parents as ordinary people and by 2 items from the original individuation subscale (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986). These items suggest a negative pattern of disengagement from parents that is characterized by alienation and mistrust (Ryan & Lynch, 1989). Adjustment to university. The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) (Baker & Siryk, 1989) is a self-report measure with 67 items that address four aspects of students’ adjustment to university: academic, social, and personal-emotional adjustment, and institutional attachment. Academic adjustment refers to the educational demands of the university experience. Social adjustment assesses how well students deal with the interpersonal experiences at the university (e.g., meeting people and joining groups). Personalemotional adjustment taps whether the student experiences psychological and somatic symptoms of distress. Finally, institutional attachment measures the degree of institutional affiliation the student feels toward the university. Previous research using the SACQ (see Baker & Siryk, 1989, for a review)

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revealed excellent convergent and criterion-related validity. Because all of these subscales are highly intercorrelated, the instrument also yields a total score for adjustment to university by summing the scores of the 67 items. In this study, the full-scale score (general adjustment; alpha = .92) was used as an indicator of overall adjustment to university. Students answered all items on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. A second indicator of adjustment to university was students’ academic results. The distribution of academic results was summarized by using a triple categorization. These three categories were (a) students who failed the exams, (b) students who simply passed the exams, and (c) students who passed with honors (coded as 1, 2, and 3, respectively). In the Belgian university system, students who fail the exams are not allowed to the next year of study and very often leave the university. Perceived parenting. The Child Report on Parent Behavior for Older Children and Adolescents (CRPBI) (Schludermann & Schludermann, 1988) is a shortened version of a scale originally developed by Schaefer (1965). Students answered 30 items with regard to each parent on a 5-point Likerttype scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The interitem correlations for the items referring to mother and father were high enough (ranging from .23 to .66) to permit the construction of composite scores. Acceptance (20 items; alpha = .91) measures the extent to which the adolescent perceives his or her parents as responsive and involved. Firm control (20 items; alpha = .88) assesses parental use of direct means of control of the adolescent’s behavior. Adolescents scoring high on this scale see their parents as being demanding. Psychological control (20 items; alpha = .87) describes covert, psychological methods of controlling the adolescent’s activities like guilt induction and excessive pressure for change (Barber, 1996). Contrary to firm control, psychological control has a negative effect on adolescent development (Steinberg, 1990). Procedure Freshmen participated during group sessions and received course credit for their participation. All juniors and interns were asked to participate in the study and did so voluntarily. They took the questionnaire home and were asked to return it as soon as possible. Students first completed the CRPBI father version, followed by the two separation measures (PSI and EAS), the SACQ, and finally the CRPBI mother version. Filling out the questionnaire took no longer than one hour in most cases. Of all students contacted, 70%

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returned the questionnaire in time and filled it out properly (freshmen return rate = 73%; juniors = 79%; interns = 56%).

RESULTS Correlational Analysis Pearson product-moment correlations between psychological separation dimensions and adjustment to university variables were presented in Table 1. Covariances were also included (in parentheses), because these were used in subsequent analyses. High levels of conflictual independence were associated with lower levels of other aspects of psychological separation. Functional, emotional, and attitudinal independence and emotional autonomy were intercorrelated highly. Cognitive detachment was only moderately correlated with these variables, but it showed a substantial but negative correlation with conflictual independence. Higher levels of general adjustment to university were associated with better academic results. Adjustment to university was moderately correlated with the psychological separation subscales and with conflictual independence in particular. Clustering of Students in Different Parenting Style Groups Parenting style groups were derived through cluster analysis based on adolescents’ standardized scores of acceptance, firm control, and psychological control in the relationships with parents.1 A two-step procedure (Gore, 2000) was used. To determine the number of clusters, a hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out by using Ward’s method. Based on the simple but very efficient stepsize criterion (Milligan & Cooper, 1985), we ended up with a four-cluster solution. Once the number of clusters was determined, k-means clustering was used to form the four final groups. The robustness of this fourcluster solution was checked by running several analyses with different starting values and by comparing these solutions. The final solution explained at least 50% of the variance in acceptance, firm control, and psychological control, and it proved both stable and robust. Using labels commonly used in the socialization literature (Maccoby & Martin, 1983), these four clusters may be described as follows. Authoritative parenting consisted of high levels of both acceptance and firm control but moderate levels of psychological control. Adolescents experiencing permis-

372 TABLE 1: Pearson Correlations (covariances) Between Psychological Separation and Adjustment to University Variables in the Total Sample

Variable 1. Conflictual independence 2. Functional independence 3. Emotional independence 4. Attitudinal independence 5. Emotional autonomy 6. Cognitive detachment 7. General adjustment 8. Academic results *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

1

2

3

— (244.879)

–.22*** (–28.967) — (72.576)

–.22*** (–34.166) .69*** (59.385) — (103.650)

4 –.46*** (–66.531) .46*** (35.997) .38*** (35.165) — (83.996)

5 –.17*** (–18.336) .24*** (13.753) .24*** (16.208) .20*** (12.469) — (45.308)

6

7

8

–.28*** (–17.404) .06 (2.026) .04 (1.575) .16*** (5.780) –.09** (–2.551) — (16.332)

.34*** (149.192) .01 (3.013) .17*** (49.301) .13*** (–34.534) –.03 (–5.006) –.17*** (–20.038) — (811.564)

.07* (0.771) .12*** (0.763) .13*** (0.989) .03 (0.195) –.06 (0.297) –.08** (–0.258) .24*** (5.213) — (0.584)

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sive parenting reported very high levels of acceptance but very low levels of both firm and psychological control. Those experiencing uninvolved parenting reported very low levels of acceptance and firm control but moderate levels of psychological control. Very low levels of acceptance but very high levels of both firm and psychological control characterized the authoritarian parenting style. Authoritative parenting (used by one third of all parents) represented the largest group of parenting styles, followed by permissive (one fourth), uninvolved (one fifth), and authoritarian parenting (15%). Testing for Main Effects Using Lisrel 8.30 (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1993), we fitted the structural equations model to the data in the total sample, using the matrix of covariances between all variables as input and maximum likelihood as the method of estimation. The measurement part of this model consisted of three latent variables and eight observed variables. Emotional autonomy and functional, emotional, and attitudinal independence were constrained to load onto the independence from parents factor. Conflictual independence and cognitive detachment were constrained to load onto the positive separation feelings factor. General adjustment to university and students’ academic results were constrained to load onto the adjustment to university factor. The structural part of the model consisted of a multiple regression with both independence from parents and positive separation feelings predicting adjustment to university. The exogenous variables were allowed to correlate with each other. After initial testing, two modifications were made to this model. First, attitudinal independence was allowed to load onto both dimensions of individuation. Second, the residuals between emotional autonomy and cognitive detachment, and between emotional and attitudinal independence, were allowed to correlate. The latter modifications corrected for the association between these measures caused by shared method variance. The final model is presented in Figure 1. All parameters were standardized and significant (p < .01). Although this model produced a statistically significant chi-square, χ2(14, n = 969) = 65.87 (p < .01), other fit indices that are not sensitive to sample size (Bollen, 1989) suggested that the model provided an excellent practical fit to the data (standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = .04; goodness of fit index [GFI] = .98; adjusted goodness of fit index [AGFI] = .96). Major indicators of independence from parents were functional and emotional independence. High levels of conflictual independence primarily defined positive separation feelings. Adjustment to university was primarily defined by the full-scale score of the SACQ (general

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Emotional Autonomy Functional Independence Emotional Independence

.26 .74 .92

General Adjustment

.37

.48

.82 Adjustment to University

-.29

Attitudinal Independence Conflictual Independence

Independence from Parents

.29 -.40 .83 -.35

.60

Academic Results

Positive Separation Feelings

Cognitive Detachment

χ²(14)= 65.87 SRMR = .04 GFI = .98 AGFI = .96

Figure 1.

Standardized parameters of the structural equations model in the total sample (n = 969). All parameters are significant (p < .01). Error covariances between emotional autonomy and cognitive detachment and between emotional and attitudinal independence (due to shared method variance) were not printed. NOTE: SRMR = standardized root mean square residual; GFI = goodness of fit index; AGFI = adjusted goodness of fit index.

adjustment). Academic results did not add much to this latent variable, probably due to the relatively low variance of this variable. Both high levels of independence from parents ( = .37; p < .001) and positive separation feelings ( = .60; p < .001) predicted significantly higher levels of adjustment to university. Independence from parents and positive separation feelings were correlated negatively (r = –.29; p < .001). Together, these exogenous variables explained 37% of the variance in adjustment to university. The path coefficient of positive separation feelings to adjustment to university was much larger than that of independence from parents. This was tested by the difference in chi-square for the model when these two paths were constrained to be equal compared with the chi-square of the model when the paths were free to differ (Bollen, 1989). The difference in chisquare with 1 degree of freedom was 21.34 (p < .001). Testing for Moderator Effects The structural parameters of the model in the total sample were tested for moderating effects of students’ grade, gender, and parents’ perceived

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parenting style, following a two-step procedure outlined by Bollen (1989) and Holmbeck (1997). First, we estimated the model with all of the parameters constrained to be equal throughout groups, and then we reestimated the model after allowing one of the structural parameters to differ between groups. Differences in chi-square between the constrained and less constrained model indicate whether the parameter under consideration is significantly different between groups. For grade and perceived parenting style, a series of subsequent analyses determined exactly in which group the structural relation was different from the relation in the other groups. Table 2 presents changes in chi-square by freeing structural parameters to differ between groups. Allowing the path from independence from parents to adjustment to university to differ between groups did not result in a significant reduction in chi-square as compared with a model in which all parameters were constrained to be equal. Thus, regardless of students’grade, gender, or perceived parenting style, high levels of independence from parents predicted higher levels of adjustment to university. Similarly, allowing the path from positive separation feelings to adjustment to university to differ between groups did not reduce chi-square in a significant way. The association between independence from parents and positive separation feelings was, however, clearly moderated by grade, gender, and perceived parenting. Significant reductions in chi-square were observed when this parameter was allowed to differ between groups. For grade, subsequent analyses indicated that independence from parents was correlated negatively with positive separation feelings (r = –.35; p < .001), but this was so only for freshmen and juniors. In the subsample of interns, this correlation was not significantly different from zero (r = –.02). Similarly, females experienced lower levels of positive separation feelings while developing independence from parents (r = –.35; p < .001), whereas for males this association was not significant (r = –.04). Finally, subsequent analyses revealed that the association between independence from parents and positive separation feelings was negative in the authoritarian group (r = –.21; p < .01), insignificant in the authoritative and uninvolved group (r = .01), and positive in the permissive parenting group (r = .12; p < .05).

DISCUSSION The findings of this study both confirm and expand on earlier findings regarding the separation-adjustment link in college students. In line with Rice et al.’s (1990) findings and our hypotheses, subscales of the PSI (Hoffman, 1984) and the EAS (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986) are indicators

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TABLE 2: Change in Chi-Square Obtained by Freeing Structural Parameters to Differ Between Groups

Change Statistics Moderator Grade

Gender

Parenting style

Structural Parameter Independence → Adjustment Positive Feelings → Adjustment Independence ↔ Feelings Independence → Adjustment Positive Feelings → Adjustment Independence ↔ Feelings Independence → Adjustment Positive Feelings → Adjustment Independence ↔ Feelings

2

3.44 0.05 7.07 1.94 2.24 11.01 2.31 1.70 20.96

df

a

2 2 2 1 1 1 3 3 3

p .18 .98 .03 .16 .13 .00 .51 .64 .00

a. df = Number of groups in the moderator variable –1.

of two related dimensions of psychological separation in late adolescence: independence from parents and positive separation feelings. Independence from parents is assessed by students’ reports of high levels of functional, emotional, and attitudinal independence and emotional autonomy in their relationship with their parents. Positive separation feelings, characterized by high scores for conflictual independence and low scores for cognitive detachment, reflect hopeful, unresentful, and trustful reactions to the separation experience involved with the transition to university. In future research on the separation-adjustment link, therefore, homogeneous separation factors should be clearly differentiated. Failures to differentiate between these dimensions, for instance by using a full-scale score of the PSI (Lapsley et al., 1989; Lopez et al., 1986), might explain the mixed results about the separationadjustment link obtained in previous research. The two dimensions of psychological separation were only modestly correlated with each other. Contrary to Rice et al. (1990), however, this association was a negative one. So in a sample of Belgian university students, growing independent in their relationship with their parents is associated with somewhat negative feelings toward parents. Social and cultural differences between our Belgian sample and the North American sample of Rice et al. might explain this difference. Although the majority of students in our sample lived in the city where the university is located, most of them returned home to their parents at least every weekend and are able to do so due to the relatively short traveling distances in Belgium. Frequent visits home and being spoiled by parents during the weekends may result in somewhat negative overtones to the separation experience involved in returning to college.

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Differences in the measures used might, however, be a more reasonable explanation. Together with low conflict, positive separation feelings in our study mainly reflected feelings of being close to parents or not being alienated from them. In the study of Rice et al. (1990), this factor referred primarily to low levels of anxiety in the separation experience. When experiencing the separation involved with going to university, students seem to feel less close toward parents. This does not necessarily mean, however, that they are also anxious about this experience. Given the different nature of the measures used in these studies, great care must be taken in instrument selection when testing assumptions about separation and adjustment in late adolescence. Attitudinal independence as measured in the PSI taps both dimensions of individuation in this study. Attitudinal independence is an indicator of greater independence on one hand but also an indicator of greater alienation and mistrust in the relationships with parents on the other. This has to do with the concrete wording of the items in this scale, which refer to having values and principles that are different from those of parents instead of having developed personal values that are not necessarily different from parental principles. The two subscales of the EAS (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986) differentiated in this study also proved to be different indicators of individuation. Whereas emotional autonomy, the core aspect of the EAS, was a positive indicator of independence from parents, cognitive detachment was an indicator of less positive feelings associated with this independence. These findings reflect the multidimensional nature of the EAS and might shed light on the contrasting and heavily debated results of earlier studies using this measure. Distinguishing between different aspects of emotional autonomy, some of which have positive effects and others that have negative consequences, may help resolve this “detachment debate” (Silverberg & Gondoli, 1996). As expected, having positive feelings about the separation that accompanies the transition to university is a stronger predictor of better adjustment to the university environment than the actual separation or independence from parents itself. Probably, as Rice et al. (1990) suggested, the ego mastery of these emotional responses to separation is not the result of independence from parents but rather a reflection of psychological maturity of the late adolescent. Actually, this was the major reason why in our theoretical model we drew no causal path between the two dimensions of individuation in late adolescence but rather drew a simple correlation. Contrary to Rice et al. (1990), however, in this study both high levels of independence from parents and positive separation feelings were associated with better adjustment to university. This implies that students who managed to develop a certain degree of independence from parents and at the same time feel positive about this change in the relationship with their parents are

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at an advantage regarding their adjustment to university. This result also implies, however, that students who have negative or resentful feelings associated with separation or who feel lonely and alienated due to this separation are particularly at risk for their adjustment. This has important implications for counselors. When dealing with problems about separation-individuation, counselors should direct their attention to feelings associated with this process rather than to the actual level of independence from parents the student is exhibiting. After independence from parents and positive separation feelings had been identified as homogeneous latent factors of separation in late adolescence, their positive association with adjustment to university was not moderated by students’ grade, gender, or parents’ perceived parenting style. This was contrary to our initial expectations and previous research (Lapsley et al., 1989; Lopez et al., 1986). This finding implies that a certain degree of independence in the relationship with parents and positive feelings associated with this separation predict better adjustment to university for males and females; for freshmen, juniors, and interns; and for students who see their parents as authoritative, permissive, uninvolved, or authoritative. Although this conclusion might be partly due to the stringent but correct way of testing for moderating effects, this conclusion is of particular interest when studying the psychological development of late adolescents. In late adolescence, and contrary to early adolescence (Lamborn & Steinberg, 1993), a moderate level of independence from parents promotes the adjustment of all adolescents and not only of those students living in a warm and supportive (i.e., authoritative or permissive) family. Finally, the single structural parameter we did not have clear hypotheses about, the relationship between independence from parents and positive feelings associated with this separation, was clearly moderated by students’ grade, gender, and perceived parenting style. This opens the door to interesting and rather novel hypotheses. Separation seems to be a stressful experience associated with negative, angry, or resentful feelings: This holds particularly for freshmen and juniors and for females more so than for males. Of particular interest is the positive correlation between independence and separation feelings for students who see their parents as permissive. These students seem to develop a certain degree of independence from parents and at the same time feel positive about this change in the relationship with their parents, and they are therefore favored for their adjustment to university. That permissive parenting has positive effects seems to be at odds with previous research on parenting styles. The present study deals, however, with late adolescents entering university. Permissive parenting might best fit in with the

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new and relatively permissive university environment students are entering (Wintre & Ben-Knaz, 2000). Another factor that complicates comparison with earlier research is that the parenting styles in this study were defined in terms of three rather than two dimensions (Maccoby & Martin, 1983). The third dimension, psychological control (Barber, 1996), which is extremely low in permissive parenting as defined in this study, has a strong effect on psychosocial adjustment in adolescence (Gray & Steinberg, 1999). A number of limitations to this study deserve some attention. Due to the selection in the academic career at Belgian universities, the junior and intern subsamples in this study were rather selective. Although the large majority of our sample were freshmen and separate analyses were run for different grades, this selection remains one of the major limitations of this study. Moreover, our sample primarily comprised students living in intact families with both parents present. Therefore, we could not examine possible effects of alternative family types in the relationship between separation and adjustment. Lopez et al. (1988) suggested, for instance, that male and female students might respond differently to particular types of family structure. Finally, the data in this study are entirely self-report in nature and therefore are likely influenced by some commonality of method variance that is likely inflating the relationships found. The parent-adolescent relationship might look quite different to outside observers or to the parents themselves, for example. We have concluded that advances in psychological separation from parents contribute to the adjustment of late-adolescent students. This was implied in the direction of effects in the structural model we tested. It is obvious, however, that given the cross-sectional nature of this study, the direction of effects suggested is under debate. Rice (1992) concluded from a longitudinal study in a relatively small sample of college freshmen and juniors that there is no link between prior independence from parents and later reports of adjustment to college. On the contrary, the alternate hypothesis received modest support. A definitive conclusion about the direction of effects can only be drawn, however, based on a follow-up of a large sample of students. Such a follow-up is currently in progress with our freshmen and junior subsamples.

NOTE 1. Detailed results about the relationship between parenting styles on one hand and psychological separation and adjustment to university on the other can be obtained from the first author.

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Wim Beyers received his Ph.D. in developmental psychology in 2001 and is currently a postdoctoral researcher for the Fund for Scientific Research–Flanders, working at the Center for Developmental Psychology of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. His research interests include adolescent autonomy and separation, identity, parenting styles, psychosocial adjustment, and longitudinal designs. More information about his research projects can be found at http://www.psy.kuleuven.ac.be/cdp/index.htm. Luc Goossens, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He has authored or coauthored articles in various journals, including the Journal of Adolescent Research, Journal of Adolescence, and Journal of Youth and Adolescence. His current research focuses on social and personality development in adolescence, with particular emphasis on topics such as adolescent egocentrism, adolescent loneliness, and identity formation.