Implications of Identification with Parents and Parents' Acceptance for Adolescent and Young Adult Self-esteem

Although several authors have suggested that youths' identification with their parents plays an important role in how they come to evaluate themselves, this hypothesis has not been explored empirically in longitudinal research. Using prospective data from a representative community sample, we tested whether the association between adolescents' identification with mother and father and subsequent gains in global self-esteem would hinge on the parent's acceptance or rejection of the adolescent. Results showed that male adolescents' self-esteem consistently improved the more they identified with their parents. Among female adolescents, the change in self-esteem associated with parental identification depended on the parent's evaluation of them, suggesting that identifying with a rejecting parent presents a particular vulnerability for low self-esteem in young women.