THE RELATION OF OCCUPATIONAL IDENTITY, AND FAMILY BACKGROUND VARIABLES IN A HUNGARIAN SAMPLE OF EMERGING ADULTS
THE RELATION OF OCCUPATIONAL IDENTITY, AND FAMILY BACKGROUND VARIABLES IN A HUNGARIAN SAMPLE OF EMERGING ADULTS

Summary/Abstract: Background: In the last few decades, identity formation has been postponed until the mid or latetwenties (ARNETT 2000). ARNETT calls this specific period between 19–27 emerging adulthood.According to WATERMAN (1999), some family variables can foster or hinder the process of identitydevelopment. In our study, we investigate the relation of parenting styles described by BAUMRIND(1991), two-parent or one-parent family backgrounds, and occupational identity. Among thedimensions of identity, we will focus on occupational identity, since it has great importance in thisperiod of life.Method: Besides demographic variables and data regarding the participants’ family background,we used the Melgosa Occupational Identity Scale (OIS), Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ).The sample consisted of 220 19–29-year-old emerging adults.Results: According to our hypothesis, identity diffusion and moratorium show a slightly negativecorrelation with age. Regarding occupational identity, it seems significant whether the personcould or could not find a job in accordance with their qualifications: the moratorium is higheramong those who could not, while foreclosure and identity achievement is higher among thosewho found a job in their professional field. Regarding family background, it seems that childrenof divorced parents do now show higher rates of less adaptive identity statuses, but foreclosure ishigher among children raised in two-parent families. Conforming to our expectations, we foundthat permissive parenting is related to identity diffusion, while interestingly, both the father’s andthe mother’s authoritative parenting is related to foreclosure.

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