Predicting Young Adult Competencies

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate adolescent era parent behaviors and adolescent personality development as unique and joint predictors of young adult competencies. The study sample consisted of 79 two-parent with an adolescentfamilies who, at the time the data used in these analyses were gathered, had beenfollowed in longitudinal research for 11 years. Parent behaviors theoretically associated with (a) the development of adolescent autonomy while maintaining relatedness to the family (Autonomy and Relatedness Coding) and (b) adolescent ego development (Constraining and Enabling Coding) were used to predict young adult educational attainment and ego resiliency. Results indicated that (a) adolescent era parenting behaviors and (b) adolescent ego development contribute to the prediction of young adult educational attainment and ego resiliency. The influence of parenting behaviors was mediated through ego development. Parent talkativeness and parent behavior interacted in the prediction of ego resiliency.