Unraveling the individuation process: Role of sex differences

Pages: 808-811
Tarika Sandhu (Department of Psychology, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab)
Nayanika Singh (Department of Psychology, Rayat Bahra University, Mohali, Punjab)

Jung defined individuation as the process by which“a person becomes a psychological in-dividual, that is separate, indivisible unity or whole which begins after the 35th year (adulthood) (Jung, 1959). Review of literature indicates that differences have been found between males and females on their index of the individuation process however, there is dearth of review of literature to validate the same (Garbarino et al., 1995; Chen, 2009). The present investigation was thus designed to study the impact of gender in determining the index of the individuation process among adults. Sample for the study consisted of 240 marriedadults, age ranging from40-50 years (males=143, females=97) withstable career functioning. Participants belonged to Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, and Solan. This investigation has psychometrically quantified the construct of individuation as a cumulative score of self-concept, ego strength and inner-directedness. One-way ANOVA was used to study the differences between males and females on the index of the individuation process among adults. Results indicated that no significant differences emerged between males and females on the index of the individuation process in adults. Therefore, the proposed hypothesis of the study which stated that, “Males would be significantly higher on the Index of the Individuation Process as compared to Females” could not muster empirical support with respect to the sample for the present study. However, these findings can also be substantiated with qualitative studies for a complete in depth understanding of the process of individuation.