ABSTRACT
Research on the development of autonomy usually focuses 'on infancy or adolescence. In infancy, autonomy revolves around issues of willfulness or self-control (Erikson, 1968). Whereas Erikson suggests that these issues continue to demand resolution throughout the life cycle, it is in adolescence that autonomy again is a focus of development. In adolescence, autonomy is defined as individuation (BIos, 1979), resistance to control by parents (Kandel & Lesser, 1972) or peers (Berndt, 1979), and self-reliance (Greenberger, 1984). Recent studies ofadolescents evaluated each of these elements of autonomy (Small, Eastman, & Cornelius, 1987; Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986; Steinberg, 1987) and found them to be somewhat independent in cause and effect. Whereas self-reliance appears to increase during adolescence, emotional dependency shifts from dependence on parents to dependence on peers (Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986).
