Emotional Autonomy and Adolescent Adjustment

Abstract

This study examined the relations among maternal depression, family dysfunction, emotional autonomy, and adolescent adjustment. Participants were 145 mothers and children who were assessed in eighth grade (mean age = 13.51, SD = .57) and again in ninth grade. Results indicated that maternal depression significantly moderated the relation between emotional autonomy and adolescent adjustment. Among offspring of depressed mothers, higher levels of emotional autonomy (detachment) significantly predicted increases in internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas among offspring of nondepressed mothers, higher levels of emotional autonomy significantly predicted decreases in adolescents’ symptoms. Within families of depressed mothers, family dysfunction significantly predicted adolescent symptoms, and this relation was partially mediated through emotional autonomy. These results further highlight the importance of considering the family context in studies of adolescent autonomy.

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