Predicting Adolescent Self Differentiation from Relationships with Parents and Romantic Partners

We explored parent and peer social contexts as independent and joint predictors of adolescent self differentiation. High school students (N=101) completed self report measures on self differentiation, parental responsiveness, and social support from romantic partners. Participants also completed the Adolescent Separation Anxiety Test, a semi-structured attachment quality interview. Responsive parenting and romantic support emerged as significant predictors of self differentiation, however; significantly greater variance in self differentiation was accounted for when parent and peer relational contexts were considered together. Youth with insecure parental attachments reported a strong connection between romantic support and self differentiation, whereas this connection was absent among insecure youth. Conversely, youth without romantic ties reported a strong association between responsive parenting and self differentiation compared to a non significant association among youth with boy/girlfriends. Findings suggest that adolescent self differentiation is best understood at the intersection between parent and peer social worlds.