Effect of presence and absence of parents on the emotional maturity and perceived loneliness in adolescents

Abstract

The present study was conducted to examine the Emotional Maturity and Perceived Loneliness of adolescents with respect to the presence and absence of parents. It was hypothesized that the absence or presence of parents of adolescents would affect the level of emotional maturity and perceived loneliness among adolescents. The adolescent participants N=250 (males n=125 and females n=125; age range= 13-18; M=16.63; SD=0.87) were approached through purposive convenient sampling technique. Measures included the Emotional Maturity Scale and the UCLA loneliness scale V-III. Results indicated that adolescent who lived with their guardians had greater perceived loneliness than those who lived with their parents. However, adolescents who were living with their parents had lower Emotional Maturity. A significant negative but weak/moderate relationship was found between Perceived Loneliness and Emotional Maturity (r=-.28). The findings of this study can be useful in clinical settings to counsel adolescents who are facing conflicts with step- or absent- parents, or feel lonely in the presence of their parents as well as in therapies and have disrupted levels of emotional maturity. Moreover, it can benefit the psychological community by providing the opportunity to find solutions to relevant problems.