Students' Adjustment Over the Transition to Middle School: The Role of Caregiver and Teacher Attachments

Abstract

109 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004.Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate a model of students' adjustment over the transition from elementary school to middle school. A secure attachment to one's primary caregiver and a secure attachment to one's elementary schoolteacher were hypothesized to predict perceived self-competence and better adjustment over the transition. Perceived self-competence was also hypothesized to predict better adjustment over the transition. Results indicated that a secure attachment to one's primary caregiver predicted perceived self-competence, yet none of the other hypotheses were supported. Moreover, students reported decreases in psychological symptomatology and aggressive behaviors over the transition. These findings highlight the powerful influence of caregivers and caution us from assuming that the transition will lead to negative outcomes for all students.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD