Identity development in adolescence and parenting attitudes: An autonomy-based model and parent education proposal

Parents play a significant role in adolescents' identity development. The autonomy and exploration processes and identity-focused investments of adolescents still living with their families are profoundly influenced by the opportunities provided by parents and the boundaries they set. Accordingly, the first aim of this study is to test a model that examines the direct and indirect effects of parental attitudes on adolescents' identity development. The second primary aim is to propose an education program for parents focused on fostering healthy identity development and to test the effectiveness of this program. Initially, the four-factor structure of the Differentiation of Self Scale-R was examined through confirmatory factor analysis, and it was found that this structure was not confirmed for the Turkish adolescent sample. Subsequently, only the emotional reactivity subdimension of the scale was used in the study. In line with the study's first aim, the mediating roles of differentiation of self and emotional autonomy in the relationship between successful identity development and parental attitudes (sensitivity, autonomy support, behavioral control, psychological control) were tested using structural equation modelling. The indirect effects derived from the model revealed that the emotional reactivity subdimension of differentiation of self is a significant mediator in the relationship between fathers' behavioral control, parents' psychological control, and identity development. Emotional autonomy, on the other hand, demonstrated a significant indirect effect in all models examining the relationship between parental attitudes and identity development. The study also concluded that psychological control was the only parental attitude with a significant direct effect on successful identity development. In the second phase of the study, a single-session workshop-style education program was designed to enhance parental attitudes that support identity development. The effectiveness of this proposed program was tested using a 2x2 mixed experimental design. Following pretest measurements, the education session was conducted with the experimental group, while no intervention was applied to the control group. Posttest measurements were taken one week after the education session. The data were analyzed using Linear Mixed Model (LMM) analysis. During this phase, the autonomy support subdimension of the Leuven Perceived Parenting Scale was excluded from evaluation due to its lack of reliability. The LMM analysis results indicated that the training program did not have a significant effect on parents' sensitivity, behavioral control, or psychological control attitudes.