Growing Up of Youth: Separation from Parents, Subjective Adulthood and Psychological Well-being at the Age of 18—27

Abstract

The article explores the process of growing up in young people in the period of “emerging adulthood” from the perspective of psychological separation from parents and its relationship with the formation of adult identity (subjective adulthood) and psychological well-being. The study was conducted on a sample of 126 subjects aged 18—27 years (M=22.3) with different work and family status. Indicators of psychological separation (Hoffman PSI Questionnaire), psychological well-being (Riff Scale), life satisfaction (Diener scale), happiness level (Fordis scale), indicators of spatial and functional separation, subjective adulthood (survey questions) were measured. The study revealed the heterogeneity of the separation process and the dominance of functional and behavioral aspects over the affective and cognitive ones. Also, the separation from father was more expressed in comparison with the separation from mother. Behavioral components of psychological separation from parents are viewed as predictors of a decrease in satisfaction, happiness, and purposefulness of life. Subjective adulthood is not related to the degree of separation, but it is related to psychological well-being: the highest levels of psychological well-being scales were found in young people with developed adult identity.