Well-Being in Indian Adolescents: Role of Emotional Autonomy and Identity Formation

The objective of the present study was to examine the role of emotional autonomy and identity formation in the well-being of Indian adolescents. For this purpose, a sample of 400 adolescents (200 boys and 200 girls) ranging in age from 16 to 21 years, were selected from various colleges of city Amritsar (India). The sample was administered various psychological tools to measure well­ being, emotional autonomy, and the identity statuses. The correlational analyses suggested that for both boys 'and girls' sample, all dimensions of emotional autonomy and the identity statuses of achievement and moratorium have significant positive correlations with well-being, whereas the identity statuses of foreclosure and diffusion have shown an inverse relationship with well-being. Step-Wise Multiple Regression Analyses revealed that variables contributing positively to the well-being of both adolescent boys and girls are individuation, nondependency on parents, and identity achievement, whereas identity diffusion contributes negatively to the well-being of both boys and girls. Moratorium status seems to be playing a positive role in the well­ being of adolescent girls, whereas foreclosure status contributes negatively to the well-being of adolescent boys.