Adanya ketidakstabilan yang disebabkan oleh salah satu karakterisitik pada emerging adults, yaitu eksplorasi diri yang memberikan dampak perubahan pada beberapa aspek kehidupan, seperti identitas diri, hubungan romantis, pekerjaan, dan hubungan dengan orang sekitar seringkali meningkatkan psychological distress pada emerging adults yang ditandai dengan timbulnya rasa cemas dan depresi. Pandemi COVID-19 memberikan dampak dalam mengembangkan keberfungsian pada dewasa muda dan menjadi stressor tambahan bagi emerging adults. Dalam literatur-literatur sebelumnya, ditemukan bahwa differentiation of self yang merupakan kemampuan individu untuk menyeimbangkan otonomi diri dan hubungan positif dengan keluarga, memiliki hubungan terhadap tingkat psychological distress pada emerging adults. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat apakah differentiation of self dapat memprediksi psychological distress pada emerging adults di masa pandemi COVID-19. Penelitian ini memperoleh sebanyak 300 orang emerging adults. Pengukuran differentiation of self dilakukan menggunakan alat ukur Differentiation of Self Inventory – Short Form (DSI–SF), sementara pengukuran psychological distress dilakukan menggunakan alat ukur The Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25). Dari data yang dikumpulkan kuesioner daring, dilakukan analisis regresi linear untuk menguji hipotesis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa differentiation of self secara signifikan memprediksi psychological distress pada emerging adults di masa pandemi COVID-19 (R2 = 0,291, adjusted R2 = 0,281, p < 0,05). Oleh karena itu, keluarga diharapkan dapat membangun hubungan yang positif untuk meningkatkan differentiation of self pada emerging adults guna menghindari meningkatnya psychological distress individu.

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The existence of instability caused by one of the characteristics of emerging adults, namely self-exploration which has an impact on several aspects of life, such as self-identity, romantic relationships, work, and relationships with people around them often increases psychological distress on emerging adults who characterized by the emergence of feelings of anxiety and depression. The COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact on developing functioning in emerging adults and being an added stressor for emerging adults. In previous literature, it was found that self-differentiation, which is an individual's ability to balance self-autonomy and positive relationships with family, has a relationship with the level of psychological distress in emerging adults. This study aims to see whether self-differentiation can predict psychological distress in emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study obtained as many as 300 emerging adults. The measurement of differentiation of self was carried out using the Differentiation of Self Inventory – Short Form (DSI–SF) measuring instrument, while the measurement of psychological distress was carried out using The Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) measuring instrument. From the data collected by the online questionnaire, linear regression analysis was performed to test the hypothesis. The results show that differentiation of self significantly predicts psychological distress in emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic (R2 = 0,291, adjusted R2 = 0,281, p < 0,05). Therefore, families are expected to be able to build positive relationships to increase differentiation of self in emerging adults in order to avoid increasing individual psychological distress.