Undergraduates' conflictual independence, adjustment, and alcohol use: the importance of the mother-student relationship.

This study investigated conflictual independence from parents (defined as a relationship free of anger and resentment), adjustment, and alcohol use among college students at a midwestern technical university (N = 109). Results showed that adjustment, as measured by the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (1989), was associated with having achieved conflictual independence from one's parents as measured by Hoffman's (1984) Psychological Separation Inventory. Additionally, greater alcohol use was associated with having achieved less conflictual independence from parents; the most frequent and strongest relationships occurred with respect to the mother-student relationship. The results suggested that the parent-student relationship has an impact on late adolescent development and that it also may play a role in alcohol use by college students.