Scholars have widely agreed that the transition to adulthood has become destandardized and more extended in time. Although this prolonged transition to adulthood is common in late-modern societies, it is not universal, and the pathways towards adulthood may vary according to contextual factors and personal resources. This study examined the association between perceived economic insecurity and the process of separation–individuation regarding the romantic partner, and explored the mediating role of personal resources (self-esteem, depression). Participants were 387 Portuguese emerging adults (mean age = 22.32 years; SD = 3.47) involved in a romantic relationship, from different economic and cultural backgrounds. Findings revealed that self-esteem and depressive symptoms totally mediated the relationship between economic insecurity and separation–individuation, with higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of depression being associated with a more successful process of separation–individuation. This study contributes to shed some light on the interaction between developmental processes and social context variables in the transition to adulthood.
Given the increasingly challenging task of balancing multiple adult life roles in contemporary society, this study examined the influences of both conflicting and (positively) synergistic work and family roles in mediating associations between the quality of adult attachment and both parental satisfaction and parenting stress. Participants were 242 Portuguese fathers and mothers involved in dual‐earner relationships and in parenting preschool‐aged children. Structural Equations Modeling analyses yielded findings demonstrating that the paths from romantic attachment (avoidance and anxiety) to parenting stress and satisfaction were fully explained by work‐family dimensions, especially the conflict dimension. Implications of these findings for parent education and intervention are discussed.
In: Child abuse & neglect: the international journal ; official journal of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Band 130, S. 105370