The study examines autonomy, self-esteem, and educational plans for the future of 109 institution-reared and 106 home-reared teenagers (15-19 years). Teenagers were asked to complete the Teen Timetable Scale (Feldman & Rosenthal), two Emotional Autonomy Scales (Steinberg & Silverberg), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and answer questions about their educational plans for the future. Institution-reared teenagers were found to score lower than their home-reared peers on emotional and behavioral autonomy and self-esteem. Furthermore, plans for future education tended to be less extensive among the institution-reared. Institution-reared boys scored higher on emotional autonomy than institution-reared girls. Boys living at home had the highest scores on self-esteem that also set them apart from home-reared girls. Behavioral autonomy and deidealization predicted adolescents’ self-esteem but was not linked to their educational plans. The findings indicate that institutionalization influences children’s autonomy development in a negative manner.
AllenJ. P.HauserS. T.BellK. L.O’ConnorT. G. (1994). Longitudinal assessment of autonomy and relatedness in adolescent–family interactions as predictors of adolescent ego development and self-esteem. Child Development, 65, 179-194.
2.
Attar-SchwartzS. (2008). Emotional, behavioral and social problems among Israeli children in residential care: A multi-level analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 229-248.
3.
BeckettC.MaughanB.RutterM.CastleJ.ColvertE.GroothuesC., et al. (2006). Do the effects of early severe deprivation on cognition persist into early adolescence? Findings from the English and Romanian adoptees study. Child Development, 77, 696-711.
4.
BumpusM. F.CrouterA. C.McHaleS. M. (2001). Parental autonomy granting during adolescence: Exploring gender differences in context. Developmental Psychology, 37, 163-173.
5.
ChenZ.-Y. (1999). A gender comparison on the association of adolescent emotional autonomy with educational expectations and self-esteem. Applied Behavioral Science Review, 1, 1-21.
6.
ChenZ.DornbuschS. M. (1998). Relating aspects of adolescent emotional autonomy to academic achievement and deviant behavior. Journal of Adolescent Research, 13, 293-319.
7.
ChouK. L. (2003). Emotional autonomy and problem behavior among Chinese adolescents. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 164, 473-480.
8.
CollinsW. A.GleasonT.SesmaA. (1997). Internalization, autonomy, and relationships: Development during adolescence. In GrusecJ. E.KuczynskiL. (Eds.), Parenting and children’s internalization of values: A handbook of contemporary theory (pp. 78-99). New York: Wiley.
9.
DaddisC.SmetanaJ. (2005). Middle-class African American families’ expectations for adolescents’ behavioural autonomy. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 371-381.
10.
DaunhauerL. A.BoltonA.CermakS. A. (2005). Time-use patterns of young children institutionalized in Eastern Europe. OTJR: Occupation, Participation & Health, 25(1), 33-40.
11.
Department of Health. (2007). Children looked after by local authorities, Year ending 31 March 2006. London: Author.
12.
The Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs. (2006). Review of living and learning conditions of children without parental care and, if necessary, of improvement the developmental environment. Retrieved May 12, 2006, from http://www.sm.ee/est/pages/index.html
13.
FeldmanS. S.QuatmanT. (1988). Factors influencing age expectations for adolescent autonomy: A study of early adolescents and parents. Journal of Early Adolescence, 8, 325-343.
14.
FeldmanS. S.RosenthalD. A. (1990). The acculturation of autonomy expectations in Chinese high schoolers residing in two Western nations. International Journal of Psychology, 25, 259-281.
15.
FeldmanS. S.RosenthalD. A. (1991). Age expectations of behavioral autonomy in Hong Kong, Australian and American youth: The influence of family variables and adolescents’ values. International Journal of Psychology, 26, 1-23.
16.
FormanD. R. (2007). Autonomy, compliance, and internalization. In BrownellC. A.KoppC. B. (Eds.), Socioemotional development in the toddler years: Transitions and transformations (pp. 285-319). New York and London: Guilford.
17.
FrankS. J.AveryC. B.LamanM. S. (1988). Young adults’ perceptions of their relationships with their parents: Individual differences in connectedness, competence, and emotional autonomy. Developmental Psychology, 24, 729-737.
18.
FrankS. J.PirschL. A.WrightV. C. (1990). Late adolescents’ perceptions of their relationships with their parents: Relationships among deidealization, autonomy, relatedness, and insecurity and implications for adolescent adjustment and ego identity status. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 19, 571-588.
19.
FuhrmanT.HolmbeckG. (1995). A contextual-moderator analysis of emotional autonomy and adjustment in adolescence. Child Development, 66, 793-811.
20.
JosephsR. A.MarkusH. R.TafarodiR. W. (1992). Gender and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 391-402.
21.
KagitçibaşiÇ. (2005). Autonomy and relatedness in cultural context: Implications for self and family. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36, 403-422.
22.
KjelsbergE.NygrenP. (2004). The prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in institutionalized childcare clients. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 58, 319-325.
23.
MacLeanK. (2003). The impact of institutionalization on child development. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 853-884.
24.
McDermottJ.Jr.RobillardA. B.CharW. F.HsuJ.TzengW.AshtonG. C. (1983). Reexamining the concept of adolescence: Differences between adolescent boys and girls in the context of their families. American Journal of Psychiatry, 14, 1318-1322.
25.
MorisonS. J.EllwoodA.-L. (2000). Resiliency in the aftermath of deprivation: A second look at the development of Romanian orphanage children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 46, 717-737.
26.
NoomM. J.DekovicM.MeeusW. (2001). Conceptual analysis and measurement of adolescent autonomy. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 30, 577-595.
27.
O’ConnorT. G.RutterM. (2000). Attachment disorder behavior following early severe deprivation: Extension and longitudinal follow-up. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 703-712.
28.
PullmannH.AllikJ. (2000). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: Its dimensionality, stability and personality correlates in Estonian. Personality and Individual Differences, 28, 701-715.
29.
RahmanT.KhalequeA.RahmanA. (2000). Purpose in life and self-concept of Bangladeshi students reared in home and institutional environments. International Forum for Logotherapy, 23, 101-106.
30.
RocheK. M.AhmedS.BlumR. W. (2008). Enduring consequences of parenting for risk behaviors from adolescence into early adulthood. Social Science & Medicine, 66, 2023-2034.
31.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2006). Self-regulation and the problem of human autonomy: Does psychology need choice, self-determination, and will?Journal of Personality, 74, 1557-1595.
32.
RyanR. M.LynchJ. H. (1989). Emotional autonomy versus detachment: Revisiting the vicissitudes of adolescence and young adulthood. Child Development, 60, 340-356.
33.
SmetanaJ.CreanH. F.Campione-BarrN. (2005). Adolescents’ and parents’ changing conceptions of parental authority. New Directions for Child and Adolescents Development, 108, 31-46.
34.
SteinbergL.SilverbergS. (1986). The vicissitudes of autonomy in early adolescence. Child Development, 57, 841-851.
35.
StewartS. M.BondM. H.DeedsO.ChungS. F. (1999). Intergenerational patterns of values and autonomy expectations in cultures of relatedness and separateness. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 30, 575-593.
36.
The St. Petersburg–USA Orphanage Research Team. (2005). Characteristics of children, caregivers, and orphanages for young children in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Applied Developmental Psychology, 26, 477-506.
37.
ThompsonS. L. (2001). The social skills of previously institutionalized children adopted from Romania. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Science & Engineering, 61(7-B), 3906.
38.
TulvisteT. (2004). Socio-cultural variation in mothers’ control over children’s behavior. Ethos, 32(1), 34-50.
39.
TulvisteT. (2007). Autonomy orientation in the socialization of Estonian children. In ZhengG.LeungK.AdairJ. (Eds.), Perspectives and Progress in Contemporary Cross-Cultural Psychology. Proceedings of the IACCP XVIIth Congress (pp. 89-96). Beijing: China Light Industry Press.
40.
TulvisteT.AhtonenM. (2007). Child-rearing values of Estonian and Finnish mothers and fathers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38, 137-155.
41.
TulvisteT.GutmanP. (2003). A comparison of value preferences and attitudes toward collectivism of institution-reared and home-reared teenagers. European Journal of Psychology of Education, XVIII, 33-42.
42.
TulvisteT.MizeraL.De GeerB.TryggvasonM.-T. (2007). Child-rearing goals of Estonian, Finnish, and Swedish mothers. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 48, 487-497.
