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.