Development and Properties of the Adolescent Friendship Attachment Scale

Two studies are reported presenting the development of the Adolescent Friendship Attachment Scale (AFAS), a 30 item self-report measure of adolescent close friendship conceptualized as an attachment relationship. Study One reports the results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with a sample of 490 adolescents aged 13 to 19 years. A second-order factor model was supported with a single friendship attachment factor underlying three first order factors (Secure, Anxious/Ambivalent, Avoidant) similar to those reported in the broader attachment literature. The AFAS subscales were found to be appropriately reliable and demonstrated appropriate convergent and discriminant validity when compared to measures of attachment styles (the Relationship Questionnaire) and parental and peer group attachment (the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment). Study Two reports a successful replication of the factor structure with an independent sample of 787 adolescents. Further research evaluating the predictive utility of the AFAS is recommended

Age and Sex Differences in the Influence of Attachment Relationships on Adolescent Psychological Health

The quality of adolescent attachment with mothers, fathers, and peers, and the impact of these relationships on psychological health and self-esteem is examined in a sample of 615 high school students. Using an attachment theory perspective, it is argued that different attachment relationships have different affects on adjustment depending on age and gender. Results support the view that attachment develops in peer relationships before withdrawing from parental relationships in adolescence and that this process occurs at different ages and has different consequences for self-esteem and depression. Maternal attachment had a greater impact on psychological adjustment for girls while paternal attachment had a greater impact for boys. It is concluded that while an attachment framework is useful for understanding developmental changes in relationship networks during adolescence, further individual difference and developmental factors may need to be considered

Psychological Health, Maternal Attachment and Attachment Style in Breast and Formula Feeding Mothers: A Preliminary Study.

This study examined psychological health, maternal attachment, and attachment style in an Australian sample of breast and formula feeding mothers. Thirty-six breast feeding and twenty-four formula feeding women with a child between four and six months of age were recruited through community health centres and snowball sampling. Participation involved a thirty-minute interview and completion of relevant questionnaires. Contrary to expectations, no differences were found between breast and formula feeding mothers in terms of their psychological health and maternal attachment. Results suggest that secure attachment styles are related to greater psychological health and that they predict the likelihood of a mother changing feeding method. The results of this study challenge widely held assumptions concerning the importance of breast feeding for maternal wellbeing and attachment with infants, and support the literature suggesting attachment styles play an important role in affect regulation and the adjustment to new motherhood

Intimacy and Attachment in Adolescent Relationships

From an attachment theory framework this study investigated the relationship of working models of self and other to the experience of intimacy conceptualised as a multidimensional phenomena. It was hypothesised that more self disclosure and increased intimacy goals would be associated with a positive model of other and that a positive model of self would be associated with greater levels of receiving disclosure and perceiving a partner to be responsive. Using a cross sectional sample of upper high school students (N=265) the results provided support for the view that the model of other primarily influences intimacy goals and self disclosure. Partial support was found for the effect of the model of self on eliciting disclosure from others and perceptions of partner responsiveness. The results are discussed in the context of multidimensional models of intimacy and adolescent psychosocial development

Adolescent Psychological Health and School Attitudes: The Impact of Attachment Relationships

The simultaneous and differential effects of parental, peer, and intimate friendship attachment on attitudes to school and psychological health were examined in a sample of 520 adolescents aged from 13 to 19 years. Based on recent extensions to attachment theory it was predicted that parental, peer and intimate friend attachment would impact on psychological health variables, while peer attachment and intimate friendship attachment along with depression and self-esteem would influence attitudes towards school. The hypothesised pattern of relationships was evaluated using structural equation modelling techniques. Overall, there was only partial support for the hypotheses. Results showed that parental attachment and peer attachment were related to psychological health but intimate friendship attachment was not. Intimate friendship was the only attachment variable that directly influenced school attitudes. The three attachment variables were only weakly inter-correlated. Implications with regard to extensions of attachment theory are discussed

Attachment Relationships and Adolescent Psychological Health: The Influence of Romantic Relationships

Research demonstrates that attachment relationships play important roles in adolescent psychological health. The influence of romantic relationships on adjustment is less clear. Using a cross-sectional sample of 515 adolescents, the current study examines whether romantic relationships replace the influence of other attachment relationships on adolescent psychological health. Regression analyses revealed that romantic relationships did not significantly impact on the influence of other attachment relationships when predicting depression but did significantly decrease the influence of peer attachment for self-esteem. It is concluded that romantic relationships during adolescence do not have major direct effects on adjustment and have only a minor influence on existing attachment relationships in predicting psychological health. Findings are discussed in the light of the continuity model of interpersonal relationships

Attachment Styles, Quality of Attachment Relationships, and Components of Self-Esteem in Adolescence

Attachment style was assessed in relation to self-esteem and quality of parental and peer relationships in a sample (N = 495) of high school students. It was predicted that there would be a high degree of relationship between secure attachment, quality of relationships, and self-esteem, and that there would be differential relationships between the various attachment styles and components of self-esteem. Results indicated that both Secure and Dismissive attachment styles were associated with high quality of attachment to mother and father but only Secure attachment was associated with high quality of attachment to peers. Examination of the components of self-esteem revealed that the quality of relationships to peers predicted Self-Liking but not Self-Competence. The results suggest complexity in the relationship between different elements of attachment and self-esteem

Family Criticism and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adult Primary Care Patients: Optimism and Pessimism as Moderators

Objective: Depression is a significant global public health burden, and older adults may be particularly vulnerable to its effects. Among other risk factors, interpersonal conflicts, such as perceived criticism from family members, can increase risk for depressive symptoms in this population. We examined family criticism as a predictor of depressive symptoms and the potential moderating effect of optimism and pessimism. Methods: One hundred five older adult, primary care patients completed self-report measures of family criticism, optimism and pessimism, and symptoms of depression. We hypothesized that optimism and pessimism would moderate the relationship between family criticism and depressive symptoms. Results: In support of our hypothesis, those with greater optimism and less pessimism reported fewer depressive symptoms associated with family criticism. Conclusion: Therapeutic enhancement of optimism and amelioration of pessimism may buffer against depression in patients experiencing familial criticism

Measuring specific attachment relationships of mother, father and peer in Malaysian adolescents

The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) is the most widely used self-report measure of individual differences in adolescent attachment. However, the factor structure of this measure has not been replicated outside of the Western adolescent population. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the aim of this study is to explore the factor structure of the IPPA in Malaysian adolescents. A total of 2,040 school-going adolescents across urban and rural areas of Malaysia completed the 75 items of the IPPA Mother, Father and Peer forms. Contrary to Western findings, results revealed that the three factor structure of the original IPPA sets were not replicated in the Malaysian data. A different three-factor structure for the Parental scales and a two-factor structure for the Peer scale were found to best fit the data. Multigroup CFA (MGCFA) of the IPPA-Malay scales supported invariance of the structural model across age, gender and locality of adolescents. The results indicate that assumptions underlying the cross-cultural assessment of attachment relationships need to be examined. Future research is suggested to look into culturally valid instruments to investigate the adolescent attachment relationship beyond the Western context