The Association between Differentiation of Self and Perceived Romantic Relationship Quality in Emerging Adults

25th International Congress on Psychological Counseling and Guidance, Ankara, Türkiye, 16 - 19 Mayıs 2024, ss.70-71, (Özet Bildiri)

Introduction: Emerging adulthood is defined as a developmental stage that examines the lives

of individuals between the ages of 18-29. This stage is characterized by identity formation that

includes individuals establishing healthy close relationships and becoming independent from

others. In this context, establishing close relationships and differentiation from one’s family of

origin are two basic tasks of emerging adulthood that are related to identity formation.

Emerging adults experience romantic relationships to make commitment decisions and to find

a sense of intimacy. Therefore, the quality of romantic relationships gains importance during

this stage. Another task of emerging adulthood is the differentiation of self. It refers to the

degree to which an individual balances autonomy and intimacy in relationships, as well as the

functioning of cognitive and emotional processes. In the literature, studies investigating the

relationship between differentiation of self and perceived romantic relationship quality were

mostly conducted with married participants in middle adulthood. That is why, the current study

aimed to investigate the association of differentiation of self and perceived romantic

relationship quality with an emerging adult sample who were not married.

Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to investigate the association between the

dimensions of differentiation of self (emotional reactivity, I-position, emotional cutoff, and

fusion with others) and perceived romantic relationship quality in emerging adults living in

Turkey.

Method: The sample was composed of 424 emerging adults (218 women, 206 men) between

the ages of 18-29, being in a romantic relationship for at least six months, and not being married.

The convenience sampling method was used for recruiting the sample of the study. Perceived

Relationship Quality Components Inventory, Differentiation of Self Inventory- Short Form, and

a demographic form were used to collect data. An online survey was used to collect data.

Multiple regression analysis was performed to see whether the dimensions of differentiation of

self predict overall perceived romantic relationship quality.

Findings: The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that I-position and the low

level of fusion with others positively predicted perceived romantic relationship quality whereas

emotional reactivity and emotional cutoff did not significantly predict perceived romantic

relationship quality.

Conclusion: As a result of the current study, it is seen that the I-position and the low level of

fusion with others dimensions of differentiation of self positively predicted perceived romantic

relationship quality. As the most common goal of psychological counseling with couples is to

increase the perceived romantic relationship quality of clients, to achieve this goal,

psychological counselors can perform interventions that will enable clients to take an I-position

without fusion with others.

Keywords: Emerging adulthood, perceived romantic relationship quality, differentiation of

self