Not Letting Go: Self-Processes as Mediators in the Association between Child Dependence on Parents and Well-Being and Adult Status in Emerging Adulthood

There is a growing body of work showing the negative outcomes of parents who limit the autonomy of their emerging-adult children. However, there has been little work examining children who limit their own autonomy in emerging adulthood by maintaining dependence on their parents. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of culture in the direct and indirect associations (via self-processes such as self-efficacy and self-concept clarity) between emerging adults’ dependence on parents and subjective markers of adulthood and indices of well-being. Participants included 430 (74.9% females) emerging adults (aged 18–29) years, Mage = 22.61; SD = 2.88) from Lithuania and 597 (43.9% females) emerging adults (ages 19–25 years, Mage = 22.41; SD = 1.70) from Italy. Results highlighted that, in both countries, emerging adults’ dependence on parents poses a risk factor for their transition to adulthood and well-being due to its negative association with self-processes.