Intergenerational Systems Theory and Identity Development in Young Adult Women

Abstract

One hundred sixty-four undergraduate women completed the Personal Authority in the Family System Questionnaire, the Parental Relationship Inventory, and the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status in order to determine how intergenerational family systems theory is related to identity development in females. The results of multiple regression analyses indicated that the family and parent-child variables explained 32% of the variance for the achieved, 45% for the foreclosed, 46% for the moratorium, and 55% for the diffused identity statuses. Intergenerational Intimacy, Autonomy Versus Fusion, Intergenerational Intimidation, and Intergenerational Individuation contributed unique variance to the various identity statuses.