Autonomy in adolescence: a conceptual, developmental and cross-cultural perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper provides an overview of autonomy development during adolescence. Autonomy, inspired by the Separation-Individuation Theory of Peter Blos, was initially framed as autonomy-as-independence. However, as debates in the literature arose regarding the interpretation of autonomy in adolescence, often referred to as the detachment debate, it became evident that a distinction is needed between autonomy-as-independence and autonomy-as-volitional functioning, the latter definition coming from Self-Determination Theory of Ryan and Deci). This paper defines both facets of autonomy in adolescence and reviews a line of research on their developmental trajectories, the cross-cultural interpretations of autonomy, and the role parents play in nurturing adolescent autonomy. This review provides further evidence for the two-dimensional nature of autonomy in adolescence. This distinction between independence and volition carries significant implications for how autonomy is perceived in relation to adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment and development. It also influences our understanding of how micro-contexts, such as parents and macro-contexts, including cultural factors, can shape adolescent autonomy. It is our hope that this paper contributes to the clarification of the autonomy concept and serves as an inspiration for young researchers to pursue further investigations into this vital subject.

KEYWORDS:

• Autonomy
• adolescence
• development
• conceptual
• cross-cultural

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author note

Data cited in different studies of our PhD student are stored on a research group file server that is accessible to the first author.

The data that support the findings of these studies are available from the corresponding author, [WB], upon reasonable request.

This paper is submitted as part of a special section in honour of Prof. Dr Luc Goossens, edited by Dr Koen Luyckx