Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the differences and similarities between Italy and Spain in regard to emerging adults’ perceptions of identity status, autonomy, attachment, and life satisfaction. The goal was to verify whether a Mediterranean model of transitions from adolescence to adulthood exists. Three hundred and forty undergraduate students (171 Italians and 169 Spanish) ranging in age from 19 to 22 completed measures of identity status, emotional autonomy, attachment style, and life satisfaction. Multiple correspondence analyses provided a graphic synthesis of results. The results indicate that no common model of young adult development exists in Spain and Italy and that Italian youth have a more complex quality of development compared to their Spanish peers.
Highlights
In times of large sociohistorical changes in Europe, several empirical studies have examined the transitions to adulthood across countries and cultures (e.g., Bang & Montgomery, 2013)
The Northern European model is marked by a long interim period between moving out of one’s parental home and starting a family
We argue that the results of the present study may help verify whether a psychological and a social and economic Mediterranean model of development really exists in the most populous countries of Southern Europe
Summary
In times of large sociohistorical changes in Europe (see Adamski, 1994, for a review), several empirical studies have examined the transitions to adulthood across countries and cultures (e.g., Bang & Montgomery, 2013). The British model is characterized by a premature separation from family of origin and an early marriage; the choice of parenting in this model is postponed, the couple remaining childless for a long time. Household size is much larger, and a high percentage of the population lives in expanded households. In their late teens or early 20s, many youngsters live with their parents, either full time or part time, and more and more young people continue to do so until late in their 20s or even their 30s (Beyers & Goossens, 2008; Laudani, Guzzo, Lo Cascio, Pace, & Cacioppo, 2014; Pirrone, Nicolosi, Passanisi, & Di Nuovo, 2015). The years between adolescent maturity and marriage are spent largely within the parental household; generally, marriage does not even enter the picture unless it is accompanied by a corresponding emancipation from the parental home and the formation of a new household (Laudani et al, 2014)
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