Insofar as you can be part of me: The influence of intrusive parenting on young adult children's couple identity

What is the role of family of origin in the formation of couple identity (i.e., considering couplehood as central to one's sense of self) among young adults? Two studies tested and supported the hypothesis that intrusive parenting hinders the couple identity of young adults. In Study 1, intrusive parenting was associated with weaker couple identity in a sample of 702 dating partners (351 couples). In Study 2, intrusive parenting was linked to a confused individual self-concept (i.e., lower self-concept clarity), which in turn was associated with weaker couple identity in a sample of 200 dating partners. Extra-relational factors, such as intrusive parenting, can and do predict the quality of couple identity.