DEVELOPING INDEPENDENCE IN A LIFE TRANSITION - INVESTING THE SELF IN THE CONCERNS OF THE DAY

Developing independence involves mastering the tasks of each life transition. Those more anxious about developing independence will become more invested in the normative tasks of each transition, and this anxiety will spread to the domain represented by these tasks. In Study 1, Honors College students expressed their anxiety about developing independence in academic performance at the beginning of college when this was the normative task and in social relationships after college when this was the normative task. This anxiety could be distinguished from other (e.g., academic) anxiety. In Study 2, sorority women expressed anxiety about developing independence in family and sorority relationships. Data demonstrate the social construction of anxiety and the dynamics of personality change.