A Cross-Cultural Perspective on the Relationships between Emotional Separation, Parental Trust, and Identity in Adolescents

Emotional separation and parental trust in parent-adolescent relationships are important factors for adolescent identity formation. However, prior research findings on emotional separation are inconsistent. This study aimed to conduct a more rigorous examination of the associations of emotional separation and parental trust with identity synthesis, confusion, and consolidation by applying a bi-factor model to identity, using adolescent samples from Lithuania (N = 610; 53.9% female; M (age) = 14.92), Italy (N = 411; 57.4% female; M (age) = 15.03), and Japan (N = 759; 43.7% female; M (age) = 14.13). Structural equation modeling revealed that emotional separation and parental trust were consistently associated with identity consolidation across the three countries, rather than associated with identity synthesis and identity confusion. Furthermore, the patterns of associations of emotional separation and parental trust with identity synthesis and identity confusion differed across the three nations. Overall, this study provides a better understanding of the role of emotional separation and parental trust in adolescent identity formation by suggesting the importance of the identity consolidation in the association between parent-child relationships and identity formation across three countries.