Identity development and perceived parental behaviour as sources of adolescent egocentrism
Abstract
Adolescent egocentrism involves heightened self-consciousness and feelings of
uniqueness and invulnerability (Elkind, 1967). Some studies have found that adolescent
egocentrism is associated with identity development, whereas other studies have found that
egocentrism is associated with perceived parental behavior. The purpose of this
investigation was to simuitaneously examine the associations between perceived parental
behavior, identity development, and adolescent egocentrism. Specifically, we attempted to
determine whether the association between perceived parental behavior and adolescent
egocentrism observed in previous research stems from identity development, or whether the
association between perceived parental behavior and adolescent egocentrism is
independent of the identity development process. Four-hundred twenty-five subjects from
12 to 21 years of age completed established measures of perceived parental behavior,
identity development and egocentrism. It was found that identity development was more
strongly related to egocentrism than was perceived parental behavior, but that perceived
parental behavior had a relationship with egocentrism that was in addition to (or separate from)
the effect for identity development. The implications of these findings for theories of
adolescent egocentrism are discussed.
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- Retrospective theses [1604]