Are internal dialogues in young adults influenced by mother-father incongruence in parental attitudes assessed retrospectively?
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Date
2019-01-10
Journal Title
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Publisher
ReKUL
Abstract
According to the goodness-of-fit model of psychosocial functioning, if environmental expectations are consonant with an individual's predispositions, that person will present more adaptive functioning. Parents are the first exponents of social requirements, expressed not only verbally but also nonverbally, in the form of parental attitudes. According to dialogical self theory, parents’ attitudes are reflected in their offspring’s dialogical self as the I–positions of the father and the mother. In the case of incongruence between the parents in these attitudes, an external conflict is introduced into the self. Difficulties in resolving this conflict may result in an experience of uncertainty that stimulates a person to engage in internal dialogues (IDs). In this context we posed the hypothesis that the greater the incongruence between mother’s and father’s parental attitudes, as assessed retrospectively by the child, the greater is the intensity of IDs in adult offspring’s life. One hundred and seventy-six young adults (92 female and 84 male), aged between 20 and 32 years participated in the study. We applied two methods of assessment: the Internal Dialogical Activity Scale and the Questionnaire of Retrospective Assessment of Parental Attitudes. To verify our hypothesis, we conducted a response survey analysis. The results have shown that the more the mother rejects and the less she protects, and the more the father accepts and the more he is overprotective, the greater is the intensity of IDs. Our findings are discussed in light of the broader literature on parental attitudes and IDs.
Description
176 young adults (92 female and 84 male), aged between 20 and 32 years participated in the study. Two questionnnaires were used in the study: the Internal Dialogical Activity Scale by Oleś and the Questionnaire of Retrospective Assessment of Parental Attitudes by Plopa.
Keywords
internal dialogues, parental attitude, acceptance-rejection, protecting