Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2003 Cross-Cultural Study of Adolescent Identity Formation and Autonomy within the Context of Parent-Adolescent Relationships Shruti Chatterjee Graf Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HUMAN SCIENCES CROSS-CULTURAL STUDY OF ADOLESCENT IDENTITY FORMATION AND AUTONOMY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF PARENT-ADOLESCENT RELATIONSHIPS By SHRUTI CHATTERJEE GRAF A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2003 Copyright © 2003 Shruti Chatterjee Graf All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Shruti Chatterjee Graf defended on June 18, 2003 __________________________ Ronald L. Mullis Professor Directing Dissertation __________________________ Nicholas Mazza Outside Committee Member __________________________ Ann K. Mullis Committee Member __________________________ Akihito Kamata Committee Member Approved: ______________________________________________________ Ronald L. Mullis, Chair, Department of Family and Child Sciences ______________________________________________________ Penny A. Ralston, Dean, College of Human Sciences The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Swapna and Shanker Chatterjee for nurturing me with infinite love. Their complete trust in me and faith in my abilities has made it possible for me to accomplish this milestone. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank my husband, David Graf for his consistent support and unlimited patience throughout the highs and lows of my doctoral study. Without Dave’s unconditional love and encouragement, I would not have been able to successfully complete my dissertation. He made several sacrifices throughout my doctoral program so that I could remain true to my commitments at school. Thank you Dave for being my partner in life and my best friend. Next, I thank my committee members for their continued guidance and support throughout the process of conducting research and writing my dissertation. In particular, I thank Dr. Ron Mullis for honing my analytical and writing skills. Thank you, Dr. Ron Mullis and Dr. Ann Mullis, for training me to think critically and attend to details. Also, Dr. Ann Mullis, I thank you for taking out time during your sabbatical year to provide substantive feedbacks on my research methodology and dissertation drafts. I thank Dr. Nick Mazza for agreeing to serve on my committee at a short notice. I appreciate your flexibility in meeting with me and other committee members. It would not have been possible for me to conduct and analyze my study without Dr. Kamata’s guidance and useful suggestions on statistical applications. For that, I thank you. I also appreciate Dr. David Wright for making my transition from India into the department easier and ensuring that I felt comfortable in the new setting. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Steve Harkreader and Ms. Betty Brown, for your useful insights and assistance with my statistical analyses. Ms. Marcia Williams, I thank you for your patience in educating me about all the necessary paperwork over the course of my study. Your willingness to help is definitely an asset to us students. Thank you, Dr. Mary Ann Moore, for your kindness and support. I am innately grateful to the following people who proactively helped me collect the iv sample for this study: my parents, Swapna and Shanker Chatterjee; my parents-in-laws, Ellen and Earl Graf; my cousin-in-law, Kelly Graf; Mr. Greg Bradley; Mr. John Manth; and Ms. Sarah Hansgate. I thank my parents for liaising between the school in India and me. Also, without my parents-in-law’s networking, I would not have been able to get a reasonable sample from the U.S. Thank you all. I also thank my brother, Digaunto Chatterjee for believing in my abilities and my sister-in-law, Rebecca Graf for her support. I thank God for blessing me with a loving and supportive family. It is from them that I draw my inner strength. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………... viii List of Figures ………………………………………………………………….…. x Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………. xi 1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………..……. 1 Adolescent Identity Formation and Autonomy ………………………….. 1 Statement of Purpose …………………………………………………….. 6 Research Questions ………………………………………………………. 7 Operational Definitions …………………………………………………... 7 Assumptions ……………………………………………………………… 8 Limitations ……………………………………………………………….. 8 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ………………………………………………..… 9 Evolution of Identity Formation in Adolescence ………………………… 10 Identity Formation and Parent-Adolescent Relationships ……………….. 12 Relations Between Adolescent Identity Formation and Autonomy ……... 15 Autonomy and Parent-Adolescent Relationships ………………………... 17 Age Differences in Adolescent Identity and Autonomy …………………. 21 Gender Differences in Adolescent Identity and Autonomy ……………… 24 Cultural Differences in Adolescent Identity and Autonomy ……………... 28 Summary …………………………………………………………………... 33 3. METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………………..…. 34 Research Design …………………………………………………………... 34 Sampling ………………………………………………………………….. 35 Instrumentation …………………………………………………………… 41 Procedure …………………………………………………………………. 45 Statistical Analysis ……………………………………………………….. 46 4. RESULTS ……………………………………………………………….……… 48 Research Question 1(A) …………………………………………………... 49 Research Question 1(B) …………………………………………………... 50 Research Question 2(A) …………………………………………………... 50 Research Question 2(B) …………………………………………………... 51 vi Research Question 3(A) …………………………………………………... 52 Research Question 3(B) …………………………………………………... 53 Research Question 3(C) …………………………………………………... 54 Research Question 4(A) …………………………………………………... 57 Research Question 4(B) …………………………………………………... 58 Research Question 4(C) …………………………………………………... 59 Research Question 4(D) …………………………………………………... 60 Research Question 5(A) …………………………………………………... 61 Research Question 5(B) …………………………………………………... 62 Research Question 5(C) …………………………………………………... 63 Research Question 5(D) …………………………………………………... 64 Research Question 6(A) …………………………………………………... 65 Research Question 6(B) …………………………………………………... 66 5. DISCUSSION …………………………………………………………….…….. 68 Correlational Analyses ……………………………………………………. 68 Causal Analyses …………………………………………………………… 75 Predictive Analyses ……………………………………………………….. 75 Limitations of the Present Study ………………………………………….. 80 Implications and Recommendations for Further Research ……………….. 81 Appendix A. Florida State University Human Subjects Review Board Approval …. 82 Appendix B. Informed Consent Form for Student Participation …………………… 84 Appendix C. Informed Consent Form for Parents ………………………………….. 86 Appendix D. Instrument …………………………………………………………….... 88 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………… 99 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ……………………………………………………….. 112 vii LIST OF TABLES 1. Age, Gender and Cultural Distribution of Asian Indian and U.S. American Participants …………………………………………………………………….. 35 2. Family Structure of Asian Indian and U.S. American Participants …………… 36 3. Number of Siblings of Asian Indian and U.S. American Participants ………… 37 4. Religious Distribution of Asian Indian and U.S. American Participants ……… 37 5. Educational Level of Fathers of Asian Indian and U.S. American Participants ... 38 6. Educational Level of Mothers of Asian Indian and U.S. American Participants .. 38 7. Occupation of the Primary Income Earner …………………………………….. 39 8. Adolescent’s Occupational Choice in the Future ……………………………… 40 9. Correlational Analysis Using Bivariate Correlations: Parent-Adolescent Relationships and Identity Formation in India (N=200) ………………………. 49 10. Correlational Analysis Using Bivariate Correlations: Parent-Adolescent Relationships and Identity Formation in the U.S.A .(N=234) ………………… 50 11. Correlational Analysis Using Bivariate Correlations: Parent-Adolescent Relationships and Autonomy in India (N=200) ……………………………….. 50 12. Correlational Analysis Using Bivariate Correlations Parent-Adolescent Relationships and Autonomy in the U.S.A. (N=234) …………………...……. 51 13. Correlational Analysis Using Bivariate Correlations: Autonomy and Identity Formation in India (N=200) …………………………………………………… 52 14. Correlational Analysis Using Bivariate Correlations: Autonomy and Identity Formation in the U.S.A. (N=234) ……………………………………………… 53 15. Predictive Analysis Using Multivariate and Univariate Analysis of Covariance Techniques: Age Differences in Adolescent Identity Formation in India (N=199) ……………………………………………………………………….. 57 viii 16. Predictive Analysis Using Multivariate and Univariate Analysis of Covariance Techniques: Age Differences in Adolescent Identity Formation in the U.S.A. (N=230) ………………………………………………………………...……… 58 17. Predictive Analysis Using Multivariate and Univariate Analysis of Covariance Techniques: Age Differences in Adolescent Autonomy in India (N=199) …….. 59 18. Predictive Analysis Using Multivariate and Univariate Analysis of Covariance Techniques: Age Differences in Adolescent Autonomy in the U.S.A. (N=230) ………………………………………………………………………... 60 19. Predictive Analysis Using Multivariate and Univariate Analysis of Covariance Techniques: Gender Differences in Adolescent Identity Formation in India (N=199) ………………………………………………………………………... 61 20. Predictive Analysis Using Multivariate