AMBIVALENCE TOWARD PARENTS DURING THE PROCESS OF INDIVIDUATION: Being Caught Between Autonomy and Relatedness?

The concept of ambivalence has gained considerable research interest in the last years in the study of intergenerational relationships. Lüscher and colleagues (2010) define the experience of ambivalence as an oscillation between (temporarily or permanently) irreconcilable, contradictory emotions, thoughts, wishes, and behavioral tendencies that individuals may experience in identity- and agency-relevant social relationships. Such dynamics can include simultaneous conflicting tendencies of “autonomy and dependence,” “freedom and control,” or “closeness and distance” (Lüscher & Hoff, 2013). Because intergenerational family relations are in general relatively close over the whole lifespan and not easily dissolvable, they are—according to these authors—particularly predisposed to experiences of ambivalence. In the present chapter, we concentrate on the link between perceived parental behavior and the experience of ambivalence toward parents in adolescence and emerging adulthood.