The Parental Identity Processes among Russian Fathers and Mothers

The relevance of the study of parental identity is determined by the current state of society, as well as a significant social demand for the study of internal determinants of parenthood, stuffing of the psychological and pedagogical context, patterns, dynamic transformations, and developing ways to develop the parental identity.We studied the specifics of parental identity processes among Russian fathers and mothers. We present the results of empirical study obtained on a sample of men and women who are Russian-speaking residents of Russia. The study involved respondents (N=721) aged 25 to 56 years (M=35,4; SD=2,66), of which 44% were female. We used Caregiving and Breadwinning Identity and Reflected Appraisal Inventory (J. Pleck and colleagues), test of statuses and structure of ego-identity (E.L. Soldatova), Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS) (K. Luyckx and colleagues), Identity Stage Resolution Index (ISRI) (J.E. Cote) and its modification for parental identity, the Utrecht scale for studying identity processes-Parent identity (U-MICS-PI) (modification by K. Piotrowski) and test of life-meaningful orientations (D.A. Leontiev). We hypothesized that there were some differences in the processes and content characteristics of the parental identity of Russian men and women. Fathers were found to appraise higher their identity, breadwinning identity, their maturity, and demonstrate higher scores for identity processes such as exploration in breadth and exploration in depth, reconsideration of commitment and identification with commitment; and lower scores for caregiving identity, parental identity and the processes of commitment making and ruminative exploration. In the factor structure of parental identity, in addition to two factors common to men and women that describe the sense of identity and meaningfulness of life, men also identify factors that characterize the age-related transformations of parenthood and the exploration and commitment for fathering. For the first time, we studied the processes of the parental identity of Russian men and women.

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