Autonomy Development: Gender and Age Differences from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood

Abstract

The development of autonomy during the transition to adulthood may present itself in different forms, depending on age, gender and cultural variations. Grounded in developmental psychology, this study examined gender and age differences in autonomy in Brazilian youth. Participants were 154 Brazilian adolescents and emerging adults (14-33 years old, M= 20.87, SD= 3.74, 50% female) from the state capital of Rio de Janeiro. Our findings indicate a positive association between age and autonomy scores in the Kağitçibaşi’s Autonomous, Related and Related-autonomous Self scales. Correlation results showed gender specific results in such associations, such as that for men, age was positively associated with autonomy, whereas for women, it was associated with related-autonomy. These results suggest that, in Brazil, traditional views continue to reinforce gender roles towards men’s agentic behavior and women’s communal behavior. These findings highlight the importance of elucidating gender differences in the development of autonomy in different sociocultural contexts.