Developmental Psychology 1996, Vol. 32, No. 3. 542-550 Copyright 1996 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0012-1649/9643.00 Possible Selves Among Parents of Infants and Preschoolers Karen Hooker, Barbara H. Fiese, Lisa Jenkins, Milene Z. Morfei, and Janet Schwagler Syracuse University The potential impact of parenting on adult self-development was examined through the motivational construct of possible selves (hoped-for and feared scenarios for the future). The present study was designed to determine the extent to which parenting possible selves are present among young adults in the transition to parenthood phase and young adults in the early parenting phase. Results indi- cated that parenting was strongly represented among young adults' possible selves, though there were group and gender differences. Parents of infants were more likely to have hoped-for parenting selves than were parents of preschoolers, whereas preschool parents were somewhat more likely to have feared parenting selves than were infant parents. Mothers in both groups were more likely to have feared parenting selves than were fathers. Implications for the role of parenting in adult development are discussed. Everyone who has children knows that parenting can be a powerful impetus for change. How does this experience shape our conceptions of ourselves? Although parenthood has impor- tant ramifications for the lifecourse it has only been recently that the study of parenting has been acknowledged as fruitful because of its potential to affect development in adulthood (e.g., Antonucci & Mikus, 1988; Palkovitz, 1992). The bidirectional relationship between parents and children has often been ac- knowledged (e.g., Bell, 1968; Lerner, 1978; Sameroff, 1975; Sears, 1951), but few researchers to date have empirically ex- amined the influence of the child on the adult from an adult developmental perspective. Interest has been primarily on how parenting affects children or on how childrens' characteristics influence their parents' reaction to them, which in turn affects the childrens' developmental outcomes (e.g., Belsky, 1984; Thomas & Chess, 1977). Surprisingly little attention has been paid to how having a family changes adults. The process by which parenting becomes incorporated into the self is unknown. The self has been conceptualized as a constructive and multi- faceted entity (e.g., Harter, 1983; James, 1890; Markus & Her- zog, 1992; Mead, 1934) with the capacity for growth, accom- modation, and adaptation (e.g., Biihler, 1968; Whitbourne, 1986). Goal-related processes are important for understanding changes in self(e.g., Cantor &Zirkel, 1990; Little, 1989).Mar- kus and Nurius (1986) introduced the construct of possible selves as a facet of the self involved in goal setting and motiva- tion. Briefly, possible selves are imagined scenarios for the self in the future and include both hoped-for selves, that is, selves Karen Hooker, Barbara H. Fiese, Lisa Jenkins, Milene Z. Morfei, and Janet Schwagler, Department of Psychology, Syracuse University. This research was supported in part by a grant from the Spencer Foundation. We wish to thank the families involved in this study. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Karen Hooker, who is now at the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, 322 Milam Hall, Oregon State University, Corval- lis, Oregon 97331. Electronic mail may be sent via Internet to hookerk@ucs.orst.edu. one would like to become, as well as feared selves, selves that one is afraid of becoming. If being a parent is a central compo- nent of identity (Benedek, 1970; C. P. Cowan, Cowan, Heming, & Miller, 1991; Whitbourne, 1986), one would expect that mothers and fathers would have goals for the self related to parenting. Data from many studies show that possible selves have been found to relate to important thoughts and behaviors across the lifespan. The underlying rationale for this work is that the self- system regulates actions (Carver & Scheier, 1991) and possible selves are the motivational resources, generated and maintained by the individual, that guide one's actions. Possible selves are particularly important for understanding changes in self-con- cept that are likely to occur at transition points in people's lives because new contexts and relationships can be an integral part of self-generated new images. Thus, person-context relation- ships are embodied in one's possible-self repertoire. It is thought that having an expected self in a certain domain and a countervailing feared self in the same domain (i.e., a balanced self) is the most powerful motivational resource for actions in that domain (Oyserman & Markus, 1990). Among adolescents, possible-self repertoires—especially lack of balance in school- related selves—predicted self-reports of delinquent behaviors (Oyserman & Markus, 1990). In another study of adolescent boys that included incarcerated delinquents, having balanced possible selves differentiated officially delinquent and nondelin- quent youths (Oyserman & Saltz, 1993). Among young, mid- dle-aged, and older adults, possible selves have been linked with well-being (Cross & Markus, 1991). Other studies with older, middle-aged, and young adults have shown that perceived health and health behaviors are related to having health-related possible selves (Hooker, 1992; Hooker & Kaus, 1992; Hooker &Kaus, 1994). The cognitive consequences of envisioning future selves are that they guide selective information processing, actions associ- ated with the self seem more likely, and people construct more efficient plans (Klinger, Barta, & Maxeiner, 1980). For exam- ple, Ruvolo and Markus (1992) found that when specific self- images were elicited, college women persisted and showed more 542 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.