Emotional autonomy profiles: Separation, Detachment and Loneliness during adolescence.

The aim of the present study is to analyse the relationship between five profiles (“not yet separated”, “detached”, “typical”, “separated” and “ambivalent”) of alternative substantive models of emotional autonomy (Beyers, Goossens, van Calster, & Duriez, 2005) and aloneness/loneliness (Goossens, Lasgaard, Luyckx, Vanhalst, Mathias, & Masy, 2009) during adolescence. In particular we expect to find a relationship between Separation-related profiles and parent-related loneliness and Detachment-related profiles and peer-related loneliness.Participants: 1223 adolescents (556 males; 667 females) recruited from Italian high schools ranging from 13 years to 20 years of age (M = 16.33; SD = 1.55). Participants were Caucasian and from monocultural Italian families.Measure: Emotional Autonomy Scale (EAS – Steinberg and Silverberg, 1986; Italian version by Meleddu & Scalas, 2002). The Louvain Loneliness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LLCA – Marcoen, Goossens & Caes, 1987; Italian version by Melotti, Corsano, Majorano & Scarpuzzi, 2006)Results: We conducted the analysis of variance (ANOVA) considering the five groups of adolescents as independent variables and the scores on the four subscales of the experience alone as dependent variables. A significant effect was found for the dimensions of peer-related loneliness (F (4.560) = 7538, pDiscussion: These data allow a better understanding of the connection between Detachment and worst developmental outcomes of the process of separation/individuation. High scores of Separation may signal greater suffering in the relationship with their parents. This could be a sign of psychological pain inevitably linked to the physiological processes of separation. High scores of Detachment seem to indicate a deficiency in relationships with peers and then a difficulty in directing their affective investments in this area