Abstract
This paper objective is to investigate the elements from childhood that can be associated with some type of attachment in adult relationships. Participants were 207 young people aged between 20 and 30 (M= 23,22), from Romania, who have been in a relationship during the last year. The used instruments were: Parental Authority Questionnaire and Experiences of Close Relationships Inventory. The results supported that a permissive parental style is associated with a low level of anxiety (r = .17) as a dimension of attachment in adult relationships; while authoritarian parental style coincides with avoidance tendencies (r = .17) and an increased anxiety (r = .35) in adult relationships and last but not least, authoritative parental style is associated with low levels of anxiety (r = .19) or avoidance (r = .29) in relation to others. Furthermore, the work revealed differences between participants from single-parent families (following the death of their mother or father) and participants who were raised in two parent families, the latter having a lower level of avoidance, being able to express themselves more easily in relationships and show their affection. The parental structure was not supported as a significant moderator of the relationship between perceived parenting style and attachment.
References
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Osborne, C., & McLanahan, S. (2007). Partnership instability and child well‐being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(4), 1065-1083.
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Sroufe, L. A., Carlson, E. A., Levy, A. K., & Egeland, B. (1999). Implications of attachment theory for developmental psychopathology. Development and psychopathology, 11(1), 1-13.
Ştefan, C. (2001). Familia monoparentală. Bucureşti: Editura Arefeană, pp. 7-8.
Thomas, A., & Chess, S. (1981). The role of temperament in the contributions of individuals to their development. Individuals as producers of their development: A life-span perspective, 231-255.
Valle, G., & Tillman, K. H. (2014). Childhood family structure and romantic relationships during the transition to adulthood. Journal of family issues, 35(1), 97-124.
Van Zalk, N., & Kerr, M. (2011). Shy adolescents' perceptions of parents' psychological control and emotional warmth: Examining bidirectional links. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 57(4), 375-401.
Waldfogel, J., Craigie, T. A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2010). Fragile families and child wellbeing. The Future of children/Center for the Future of Children, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 20(2), 87.
Waters, E., Merrick, S., Treboux, D., Crowell, J., & Albersheim, L. (2000). Attachment security in infancy and early adulthood: A twenty‐year longitudinal study. Child Development, 71(3), 684-689.
Weinfield, N. S., Sroufe, L. A., & Egeland, B. (2000). Attachment from infancy to early adulthood in a high‐risk sample: Continuity, discontinuity, and their correlates. Child Development, 71(3), 695-702.
Wilhelm, K., Gillis, I., & Parker, G. (2016). Parental bonding and adult attachment style: the relationship between four category models. Int. J. Women’s Health Wellness, 2, 016.
Wilmhurst, L. (2015). Child and Adolescent Psychopathology A Casebook (3rd ed), pp 16-25.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage inc.
Zayas, V., Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Aber, J. L. (2011). Roots of adult attachment: Maternal caregiving at 18 months predicts adult peer and partner attachment. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(3), 289-297.
WORLD VALUE SURVEY Wave 6 2010-2015 OFFICIAL AGGREGATE v.20150418. World Values Survey Association (www.worldvaluessurvey.org). Aggregate File Producer: Asep/JDS, Madrid SPAIN.
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. American journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52(4), 664.
Bowlby, J. (1988). Attachment, communication, and the therapeutic process. A secure base. Parent-child attachment and healthy human development, 137, 157.
Bretherton, I. (1992). The origins of attachment theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental psychology, 28(5), 759.
Briere, J., Runtz, M., Eadie, E., Bigras, N., & Godbout, N. (2017). Disengaged parenting: Structural equation modeling with child abuse, insecure attachment, and adult symptomatology. Child Abuse & Neglect, 67, 260-270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.02.036
Bryant, R. A., Creamer, M., O’Donnell, M., Forbes, D., Felmingham, K. L., Silove, D., … Nickerson, A. (2017). Separation from parents during childhood trauma predicts adult attachment security and post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychological Medicine, 47(11), 2028-2035. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000472
Buri, J.R. (1991). Parental Authority Questionnaire, Journal of Personality and Social Assessment, 57, 110-119.
Bzostek, S. H., & Beck, A. N. (2011). Familial instability and young children’s physical health. Social science & medicine, 73(2), 282-292.
Carnelley, K. B., Pietromonaco, P. R., & Jaffe, K. (1994). Depression, working models of others, and relationship functioning. Journal of personality and social psychology, 66(1), 127.
Cohn, D. A., Silver, D. H., Cowan, C. P., Cowan, P. A., & Pearson, J. (1992). Working models of childhood attachment and couple relationships. Journal of Family Issues, 13(4), 432-449.
Coleman, M., Ganong, L., & Fine, M. (2000). Reinvestigating remarriage: Another decade of progress. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62(4), 1288-1307.
Coman, I. (2009). Family of Origin and Couple Relationship – Descriptive Approach. Journal of Systemic TherapyCrowell, J. A., O'Connor, E., Wollmers, G., Sprafkin, J., & Rao, U. (1991). Mothers' conceptualizations of parent-child relationships: Relation to mother-child interaction and child behavior problems. Development and psychopathology, 3(4), 431-444.
Eldad, R., & Benatov, J. (2018). Adult attachment and perceived parental style may shape leadership behaviors. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(2), 261-275. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-06-2016-0155
Fomby, P., & Cherlin, A. J. (2007). Family instability and child well-being. American sociological review, 72(2), 181-204.
Fraley, R. C., Waller, N. G., & Brennan, K. A. (2000). An item-response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 350-365.
Gleeson, G., & Fitzgerald, A. (2014). Exploring the Association between Adult Attachment Styles in Romantic Relationships, Perceptions of Parents from Childhood and Relationship Satisfaction. Health, 06(13), 1643-1661. https://doi.org/10.4236/health.2014.613196
Greco, L. A., & Morris, T. L. (2002). Paternal child-rearing style and child social anxiety: Investigation of child perceptions and actual father behavior. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 24(4), 259-267.
Harwood, R. L., Miller, S. A., Vasta, R., Manole, I., Avădani, I., & Aneci, I. (2010). Psihologia copilului. Iași: Polirom.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1994). Attachment as an organizational framework for research on close relationships. Psychological Inquiry, 5(1), 1-22.
Lehmann, V., Hagedoorn, M., Gerhardt, C. A., Keim, M. C., Guthrie, L., Sanderman, R., & Tuinman, M. A. (2017). Memories of Parent Behaviors and Adult Attachment in Childhood Cancer Survivors. Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, 6(1), 134-141. https://doi.org/10.1089/jayao.2016.0033
Liu, Q., Shono, M., & Kitamura, T. (2008). The effects of perceived parenting and family functioning on adult attachment: A sample of Japanese university Students. Open Family Studies Journal, 1, 1-6.
Magnuson, K., & Berger, L. M. (2009). Family structure states and transitions: associations with children's well‐being during middle childhood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71(3), 575-591.
Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1990). Procedures for identifying infants as disorganized/disoriented during the Ainsworth Strange Situation. Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention, 1, 121-160.
Mitchell, C., McLanahan, S., Notterman, D., Hobcraft, J., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Garfinkel, I. (2015). Family structure instability, genetic sensitivity, and child well-being. American Journal of Sociology, 120(4), 1195-1225.
Mitrofan, I., & Mitrofan, N. (1991). Familia de la A... la Z: mic dicţionar al vieţii de familie. București: Ed. Ştiinţificǎ.
Negrei, N., & Sava, F. A. (2006). Adaptarea Inventarului Stilurilor de Ataşament la Adulţi pentru populaţia românească.
Osborne, C., & McLanahan, S. (2007). Partnership instability and child well‐being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(4), 1065-1083.
Perris, C., & Andersson, P. (2000). Experiences of parental rearing and patterns of attachment in adulthood. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy: An International Journal of Theory & Practice, 7(4), 279-288.
Prunas, A., Di Pierro, R., Huemer, J., & Tagini, A. (2017). Defence mechanisms, remembered parental caregiving and adult attachment style. Psychoanalytic Psychology.
Ravitz, P., Maunder, R., Hunter, J., Sthankiya, B., & Lancee, W. (2010). Adult attachment measures: A 25-year review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 69(4), 419-432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2009.08.006
Skowron, E. A., Holmes, S. E., & Sabatelli, R. M. (2003). Deconstructing differentiation: Self-regulation, interdependent relating, and well-being in adulthood. Contemporary Family Therapy, 25(1), 111-129.
Spokas, M., & Heimberg, R. G. (2009). Overprotective parenting, social anxiety, and external locus of control: Cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships. Cognitive therapy and research, 33(6), 543.
Sroufe, L. A., Carlson, E. A., Levy, A. K., & Egeland, B. (1999). Implications of attachment theory for developmental psychopathology. Development and psychopathology, 11(1), 1-13.
Ştefan, C. (2001). Familia monoparentală. Bucureşti: Editura Arefeană, pp. 7-8.
Thomas, A., & Chess, S. (1981). The role of temperament in the contributions of individuals to their development. Individuals as producers of their development: A life-span perspective, 231-255.
Valle, G., & Tillman, K. H. (2014). Childhood family structure and romantic relationships during the transition to adulthood. Journal of family issues, 35(1), 97-124.
Van Zalk, N., & Kerr, M. (2011). Shy adolescents' perceptions of parents' psychological control and emotional warmth: Examining bidirectional links. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 57(4), 375-401.
Waldfogel, J., Craigie, T. A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2010). Fragile families and child wellbeing. The Future of children/Center for the Future of Children, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 20(2), 87.
Waters, E., Merrick, S., Treboux, D., Crowell, J., & Albersheim, L. (2000). Attachment security in infancy and early adulthood: A twenty‐year longitudinal study. Child Development, 71(3), 684-689.
Weinfield, N. S., Sroufe, L. A., & Egeland, B. (2000). Attachment from infancy to early adulthood in a high‐risk sample: Continuity, discontinuity, and their correlates. Child Development, 71(3), 695-702.
Wilhelm, K., Gillis, I., & Parker, G. (2016). Parental bonding and adult attachment style: the relationship between four category models. Int. J. Women’s Health Wellness, 2, 016.
Wilmhurst, L. (2015). Child and Adolescent Psychopathology A Casebook (3rd ed), pp 16-25.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage inc.
Zayas, V., Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Aber, J. L. (2011). Roots of adult attachment: Maternal caregiving at 18 months predicts adult peer and partner attachment. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(3), 289-297.
WORLD VALUE SURVEY Wave 6 2010-2015 OFFICIAL AGGREGATE v.20150418. World Values Survey Association (www.worldvaluessurvey.org). Aggregate File Producer: Asep/JDS, Madrid SPAIN.