Five Scales in Search of a Construct: Exploring Continued Attachment to Parents in College Students

Mapping developmental changes in perceived parent–adolescent relationship quality throughout middle school and high school

This study examined changes in adolescents’ perceived relationship quality with mothers and fathers from middle school to high school, gender differences, and associated mental health consequences using longitudinal data from the New England Study of Suburban Youth cohort (n = 262, 48% female) with annual assessments (Grades 6–12). For both parents, alienation increased, and trust and communication decreased from middle school to high school, with greater changes among girls. Overall, closeness to mothers was higher than with fathers. Girls, compared to boys, perceived more trust and communication and similar levels of alienation with mothers at Grade 6. Girls perceived stronger increases in alienation from both parents and stronger declines in trust with mothers during middle school. Increasing alienation from both parents and less trust with mothers at Grade 6 was associated with higher levels of anxiety at Grade 12. Less trust with both parents at Grade 6 and increasing alienation and decreasing trust with mothers in high school were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms at Grade 12. Overall, girls reported having higher levels of anxiety at Grade 12 compared to boys. Findings on the course of the quality of parent–adolescent relationships over time are discussed in terms of implications for more targeted research and interventions.

Attachment and Parental Correlates in Late Adolescent Mexican American Women

Attachment dimensions and styles, parental caregiving styles, and acculturation were investigated among late adolescent Mexican American Hispanic and non-Hispanic White college women. Results showed no differences between groups on dimensions of attachment or distribution of attachment styles. Significant differences were found for parental gender. For both groups, mothers were rated higher on warmth, whereas fathers’ scores were higher for both ambivalent and cold caregiving styles. No maternal variables were associated with attachment security—only paternal variables—that highlights the salient role of fathers. Implications of measurement and acculturation are discussed as well as recommendations for future research into Hispanic populations.

Parental Relationship Quality and Masculine Gender-Role Strain in Young Men

Research has demonstrated that experiences with attachment to and psychological separation from parents predict men's reports of masculine gender-role stress and conflict. This article extends the literature by examining possible variations in these links that may be accounted for by men's core personality characteristics. The author hypothesizes that Big Five personality traits mediate the association between parental relationship quality and masculine role strain. Results from structural equation modeling with data from 307 young men generally were consistent with these hypotheses, with several key findings: (a) Replicating past research, the author observed several associations between parental relationship quality and masculine role-strain variables; (b) as expected, indirect effects were obtained for neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, though those for openness and extraversion were not statistically significant; (c) comparison of alternate models suggested that a fully mediated model fit the data reasonably well; and (d) this model accounted for a large proportion of variance in masculine role strain (41%).

Emerging adults' stress and health: the role of parent behaviors and cognitions

Although parent behaviors and cognitions are important for stress/health outcomes throughout development, little research examines whether cognitions mediate the relationship between parent behaviors and stress/health outcomes. As a result, the current study examined the reports of 160 emerging adults regarding their mothers' and fathers' behaviors (via the Parental Bonding Instrument and Alabama Parenting Questionnaire), their cognitions (via the Stress Appraisal Measure, Negative Mood Regulation Scale, Life Orientation Test-Revised, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Ruminative Response Scale-Abbreviated), and their stress/health outcomes (via the Perceived Stress Scale and Short-Form Health Survey). Results of this study suggested that emerging adults' cognitions partially mediated the relationship between their mothers' behaviors and their stress/health outcomes and fully mediated the relationship between their fathers' behaviors and their stress/health outcomes. Future research should examine parent behaviors as important distal variables in emerging adults' stress/health outcomes but should examine cognitions as more salient, immediate predictors of their stress/health outcomes.

Validity evidence for the Security Scale as a measure of perceived attachment security in adolescence

In this study, the validity of a self-report measure of children's perceived attachment security (the Kerns Security Scale) was tested using adolescents. With regards to predictive validity, the Security Scale was significantly associated with (1) observed mother-adolescent interactions during conflict and (2) parent- and teacher-rated social competence. With regards to convergent validity, the Security Scale was significantly associated with all subscales of the Adult Attachment Scale (i.e., Depend, Anxiety, and Close) as measured 3 years later. Further, these links were found even after controlling for mother-child relationship quality as assessed by the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), and chi-square difference tests indicated that the Security Scale was generally a stronger predictor as compared to the IPPA. These results suggest that the Security Scale can be used to assess perceived attachment security across both childhood and adolescence, and thus could contribute significantly to developmental research during this period.

Parental communication appears not to be an effective strategy to reduce smoking in a sample of Dutch adolescents

This longitudinal study examined the reciprocal effects of the frequency of parent-adolescent communication on tobacco-related issues (smoking-specific communication), and adolescents' smoking. Participants were 428 Dutch older and younger siblings between 13 and 16 years old. Smoking-specific communication did not affect youth smoking in general; however, among younger, but not older, siblings, smoking-specific communication was associated with a higher likelihood of smoking over time. In addition, when adolescents already smoked parents started to talk more frequently about smoking-related issues with their older and younger adolescents later on. Neither the quality of smoking-specific communication, the quality of parent-adolescent relationship, nor parental smoking moderated these reciprocal effects. In conclusion, prevention campaigns encouraging parents to undertake smoking-specific communication might not be desirable.

The Relation Between Dimensions of Attachment and Internalizing or Externalizing Problems During Adolescence

The authors examined the relation between dimensions of attachment and internalizing and externalizing problems in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents (n = 62) who completed the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; J. Feeney, P. Noller, & M. Hanrahan, 1994) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR; T. M. Achenbach, 1991). In total, the ASQ dimensions accounted for 48% of the variance in scores on the broad YSR internalizing problem scale. Three ASQ dimensions (confidence, discomfort with closeness, preoccupation with relationships) accounted for unique variance. Girls exhibited higher problem scores than did boys even when the authors considered ASQ scores. The authors observed comparable results for the anxious/depressed subscales. The confidence, discomfort, and preoccupation dimensions predicted scores on the withdrawn subscale. The authors observed weak relations or no relations between results on the ASQ and the externalizing problems scale. In conclusion, dimensions of attachment are powerful predictors of internalizing problems in adolescents. The authors discussed the potential cause and effect relationship between attachment variables and self-reported problems.

Addressing immigration-related separations in Hispanic families with a behavior-problem adolescent

This article presents specialized family therapy intervention strategies for Hispanic families with behavior-problem adolescents who have experienced an immigration-related separation. Such specialized interventions correspond to a philosophy of customized treatment delivery for Hispanic families. Interactional and cognitive/affective features are presented, and guidelines for building therapeutic alliances, identifying core family processes/themes, and transforming interactions are offered.

Construct Validity of the Relationship Profile Test: Impact of Gender, Gender Role, and Gender Role Stereotype

Research supports the construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT; Bornstein & Languirand, 2003), a 30-item, self-report measure of destructive overdependence (DO), dysfunctional detachment (DD), and healthy dependency. In this investigation, we assessed the relationships of gender, gender role, and gender role stereotype ratings to RPT subscale scores. In Study 1, we replicated earlier patterns of gender differences in RPT scores, assessed cross-sample consistency in gender difference effect sizes, and provided preliminary nonclinical norms for the RPT subscales. Study 2 showed that--as expected--DO items are perceived as stereotypically feminine, whereas DD items are perceived as stereotypically masculine. In Study 3, we examined the relationships of RPT subscale scores to masculinity, femininity, and androgyny scores. We discuss the theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications of these findings.

Construct validity of the relationship profile test: a self-report measure of dependency-detachment

This study evaluated the construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT; Bornstein & Languirand, 2003), a 30-item self-report measure of dependency-detachment that yields three subscale scores: (a) destructive overdependence, (b) dysfunctional detachment, and (c) healthy dependency. Scores on the RPT subscales generally showed the expected patterns of intercorrelations and gender differences, and comparison of RPT scores with scores on other tests supported the convergent and discriminant validity of each RPT subscale. Results of internal and retest reliability analyses were generally supportive as well, and suggested that the three RPT subscales assess aspects of the traits they purport to measure

Construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test: links with attachment, identity, relatedness, and affect

Studies suggest that overdependence and detachment have negative effects on psychological adjustment, health, and therapy process and outcome. In contrast, healthy dependency (ie., flexible, situation-appropriate help and support seeking) has beneficial effects in each of these areas. In this investigation, 90 college students (50 women and 40 men) completed a battery of personality scales including the Relationship Profile Test (RPT), a 30-item measure of destructive overdependence, dysfunctional detachment, and healthy dependency. RPT scores showed the expected patterns of subscale intercorrelations, gender differences, and links with measures of attachment style, identity, relatedness, and affect. Implications of these results for the construct validity of the RPT are discussed in the context of theoretical models of dependency-detachment.

Measurement of parental discipline and nurturance

This paper reviews the measurement of parental discipline and nurturance over the past 20 years. Discipline and nurturance are two of the most heavily referenced constructs in the parenting research literature, but there are varying ways to operationalize them with respect to both method and content. The review considered 76 questionnaires that purported to assess discipline, nurturance, or both. The evaluation included examination of a total of 27 interview schedules that used either in-person or telephone structured questions or a vignette format and focused on discipline and nurturance or discipline only. A total of 33 observational systems were reviewed, the majority of which addressed both discipline and nurturance. All measures were profiled, and several noteworthy instruments were discussed. Recommendations were offered regarding how to strengthen measurement and scientific understanding of discipline and nurturance, including the need for greater attention to cultural variation and measurement equivalence issues.

Engagement in community service among college students: is it affected by significant attachment relationships?

This study served as an exploratory analysis of how engagement in community service activities among college students is affected by significant attachment relationships. More specifically, this study investigated the difference between community service and non-service students in terms of their motivation to engage in community service activities as a function of the quality of their attachment to parents and close personal friends. A quantitative approach was used to analyse these issues. The findings revealed that students who had some community service experience evidenced more secure attachments to close personal friends while their attachments to parents were varied. Closer examination of the attachment data revealed that the community service students were more likely to have either very high or very low attachment relationships with their parents. These findings suggest that when incorporating service-learning into the college curriculum, one should examine the influence of other important contexts, (i.e. parents and peers) on community service outcomes.

Integrating Interpersonal Assessment and Adult Attachment Using SASB

Summary: The increasing interest in adult attachment concepts in social, personality, and clinical psychology has led to the proliferation of multiple self-report measures operationalizing such constructs as they are reflected in a variety of related conceptual models. Recent investigations of adult attachment measures indicate they generally converge in providing rather global information regarding the general positive or negative quality of enduring bonds with primary caregivers during the adult years or the general positive or negative quality of relational style individuals exhibit in the formation of new relationships. Benjamin and her colleagues proposed an integration of interpersonal and attachment theories based on Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) to improve precision of adult attachment assessment. They suggested that the addition of SASB-based interpersonal descriptors would improve the utility of attachment concepts in assessment and relational diagnosis. Two studies were conducted to evaluate these propositions by examining the convergent relations between childhood parental representations assessed by the SASB Intrex questionnaires and two measures of adult attachment constructs. Results of both studies supported predicted convergence between SASB dimensions and attachment constructs. Fearful and preoccupied adult attachment styles, perceptions of rejecting early attachment, and current angry and dismissive states of mind toward the caregiver are negatively related to SASB affiliation. Perceptions of enmeshed early attachment is negatively related to SASB autonomy. The addition of interpersonal descriptors to the assessment of global attachment constructs adds precision to the description of “internal working models,” increasing sophistication of attachment concepts for relational diagnosis and assessment. A framework for integrated attachment/interpersonal assessment is discussed and examples are provided.

Depathologizing dependency

For nearly a century psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals have emphasized the maladaptive, problematic aspects of dependent personality traits. In this article, I review theoretical frameworks that have played a key role in pathologizing dependency, and then describe empirical findings which indicate that dependency is not simply a flaw or deficit in functioning but is also associated with a variety of healthy, adaptive traits, and behaviors. The theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications of depathologizing dependency are discussed.