THE RELATION OF INDIVIDUATION AND PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

In this study, the authors examined gender differences in levels of individuation, the relation of individuation and psychosocial development, and whether this relation is of a curvilinear nature. Two hundred and twenty-four students completed the Measure of Psychosocial Development (G. A. Hawley, 1988), the Level of Differentiation of Self Scale (LDSS; J. Haber, 1990a), and the Personal Authority in the Family System Questionnaire, Version C (J. H. Bray and D. M. Harvey, 1987). The authors used a general linear models procedure to examine the hypothesis. A positive relation between individuation and the psychosocial resolution of identity and intimacy was demonstrated. Curvilinearity was found in the relation between the LDSS measure of individuation and identity. Results support C. Gilligan's (1982) argument that gender differences exist in the developmental patterns.