The relationship between identity and intimacy in young adulthood

Recentne kulturalne i socijalne promjene značajno su utjecale na uvijete pod kojima mlade osobe ostvaruju svoj prijelaz u odraslost te razvijaju važne čimbenike sebe poput identiteta i kapaciteta za istinski intimne odnose. Razvoj spomenutih kvaliteta ključan je za uspješno funkcioniranje odrasle osobe. Iz tog razloga, važno je utvrditi primjenjivost klasičnih teorija relevantnih za ovo životno razdoblje, poput Eriksonove teorije psihosocijalnog razvoja, kao i potencijalne čimbenike koji mogu posredovati uspješnom razvoju identiteta i intimnosti kod mladih odraslih osoba, kao što su dob, rod ili kvaliteta odnosa s roditeljima. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio ispitati povezanosti razvijenosti identiteta i intimnosti kod mlađih odraslih osoba. Nadalje, nastojalo se ispitati i potencijalne povezanosti razvijenosti identiteta i intimnosti s dobi sudionika, kao i njihovim zadovoljstvom odnosom s roditeljima i ljubavnom vezom. Konačno, cilj je uključivao i ispitivanje potencijalnih razlika u stupnju razvijenosti identiteta i intimnosti s obzirom na rod i ljubavni status. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo ukupno 204 sudionika iz Republike Hrvatske čija se dob kretala između 18 i 40 godina. Korišteni mjerni instrumenti uključivali su upitnik općih podataka, ljestvice za samoprocjenu zadovoljstva odnosom s roditeljima i zadovoljstva ljubavnom vezom te podljestvice za intimnost i identitet Modificiranog Eriksonovog inventara psihosocijalnih stadija (MEPSI) (Darling-Fisher i Leidy, 2015). Rezultati su pokazali da postoji pozitivna povezanost stupnja razvijenosti identiteta i intimnosti. Također, stupanj razvijenosti identiteta značajno je pozitivno korelirao s dobi sudionika. U području kvalitete odnosa s bližnjima, stupanj razvijenosti identiteta bio je značajno pozitivno povezan sa zadovoljstvom odnosom s roditeljima, dok je stupanj razvijenosti intimnosti pozitivno korelirao specifično s procjenama kvalitete odnosa s majkom. Konačno, sudionike koji su u trenutku mjerenja bili u dugoročnoj ljubavnoj vezi (duže od 1 godine) karakterizirali su nešto viši stupnjevi razvijenosti identiteta i intimnosti. Utvrđeni odnosi djelomično su u skladu s predviđanjima i nalazima prijašnjih istraživanja u ovome području, no neki od nalaza upućuju na potrebu za dodatnim istraživanjem na uzorcima koji su više reprezentativni, u svrhu sigurnijeg donošenja zaključaka i primjenu značenja istih na generalnu populaciju.Recent cultural and social changes have significantly influenced the conditions under which young people make their transition to adulthood and develop important facets of themselves such as identity and the capacity for truly intimate relationships. The development of the mentioned qualities is crucial for the successful functioning of an adult. For this reason, it is important to determine the applicability of classical theories relevant to this period of life, such as Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, as well as potential factors that can mediate the successful development of identity and intimacy in young adults, such as age, gender or the quality of relationships with parents. The goal of this research was to examine the relationship between identity and intimacy development in young adults. Furthermore, an effort was made to examine potential relations between the development of identity and intimacy with the age of the participants, as well as their satisfaction with their relationship with their parents and their romantic relationship. Finally, the goal included examining potential differences in the degree of identity and intimacy development with respect to gender and romantic relationship status. A total of 204 participants from the Republic of Croatia, within the age range of 18 to 40, took part in the research. The measurement instruments used included a general data questionnaire, scales for self-reported relationship satisfaction with parents and romantic relationship satisfaction, and the intimacy and identity subscales of the Modified Erikson Psychosocial Stages Inventory (MEPSI) (Darling-Fisher and Leidy, 2015). The results showed that there is a positive correlation between the degree of identity and intimacy development. Moreover, the degree of identity development significantly positively correlated with the age of the participants. In the area of the quality of relationships with loved ones, the degree of identity development was significantly positively related to satisfaction with the relationship with parents, while the degree of intimacy development positively correlated specifically with assessments of the quality of the relationship with the mother. Finally, participants who at the time of measurement were in a long-term romantic relationship (longer than 1 year) were characterized by slightly higher degrees of identity and intimacy development. The established relationships are partially in line with the predictions and findings of previous research in this area, but some of the findings point to the need for additional research on samples that are more representative, in order to draw conclusions more confidently and apply their meaning to the general population