Independence in Decision Making: Considering the Distance between Parents and Their Children

A survey was conducted to examine the strength of a relationship that develops over the years between children (confined to teenagers and those below 24 years of age) and parents who stay together with their children as well as those who don’t. Also it was observed whether the distancing of children from the places they grew up and spent their childhood in after a particular age helped them become either independent or less dependent on their parents thus, helping them develop a more mature mentality than those staying with their parents. The survey was carried out in VIT University, Vellore, India selecting 60 day scholars (equivalent number of boys and girls) and 60 hostellers (equivalent number of boys and girls). Category specific sets of questionnaires were provided and the result was interpreted on the basis of the distance between parents and children and the decision making ability of an individual which directly affected the independency or dependency level of the child on his or her parents. The independent variable chosen here is distance between parent and children whereas the dependent variable taken is the independency in decision making ability observed in children.