Late Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of Attachment: An Exploratory Study of Personal and Social Well-Being

✍ Scribed by KENNETH G. RICE; PAIGE N. CUMMINS

• Publisher: American Counseling Association
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 212 KB
• Volume: 75
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1556-6678
• DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.1996.tb02314.x

✦ Synopsis

Research in the area of late adolescent attachment and adjustment has focused almost exclusively on adolescent reports of the quality of their relationships with parents. The purpose of this study was to extend the attachment literature through examining the correspondence between late adolescent children and their parents when assessing aspects of parental bonds with children. After completing a set of questionnaires, a sample of older undergraduate students (mean age = 21 years) identified parent figures who subsequently were sent a similar packet of questionnaires. Parents were asked to complete measures of parental bonds as they believed their child would complete the same measure. Regression analyses revealed that parent reports of attachment added nonsignificant portions of unique variance to the prediction of student self‐esteem and social self‐efficacy. Student perceptions of attachment accounted for significant unique variation in self‐esteem but not in social self‐efficacy.