The Role of Attachment and Self-Esteem in Identity Development Among Emerging Adults

The Role of Attachment and Self-Esteem in Identity Development Among Emerging Adults

Alvin Sherman Library

Emerging adulthood, a transitive period between 18 and 25 years, is widely considered a period marked by change, experimentation, exploration, and development. Attachment theory postulates that relationships between children and their caregivers are crucial for the organization/representation of the self. Extant research indicates that secure parent-child-relationships and identity-development co-exist during emerging-adulthood. Self-esteem has also been associated with secure identity-formation. While there is considerable research on the associations between parent-child relationships and identity formation, as well as self-esteem and identity-formation, relatively little is known about the combined effects of parent-child relationships and self-esteem on identity-development during emerging-adulthood.

The present study explores the links between parent-child relationships (parent-trust/communication/alienation) and emerging adulthood identity (exploration/ instability/other/ self focus) as moderated by self-esteem. The sample consisted of 334 emerging-adults between the ages of 18-25 (average-age 18.76 years). Subjects completed self-report measures of parent-child-relationships (maternal & paternal-trust, communication, & alienation) Emerging-adulthood-identity dimensions, and self-esteem.

The results from the multiple-regression analyses suggest that self-esteem moderates the association between parent-child relationship and emerging-adult identity. Specifically, for emerging-adults with medium-high levels of self-esteem, feeling alienated from their father was linked with perceptions of instability/negativity, and decreased other-focus; while emerging-adults with low-self-esteem who felt alienated from their mother were less self-focused. Perceptions of maternal-trust and maternal & paternal communication were positively associated with self-focus for emerging-adults with low-medium-self-esteem, while emerging-adults with medium-high-self-esteem who reported a warm/trusting relationship with their fathers were more likely to be ‘other-focused’, additionally, emerging-adults with low-medium SE with positive-communication with their fathers also appeared to have increased identity-exploration.