Attachment as a moderator of the Attachment as a moderator of the effect of security in mentoring on effect of security in mentoring on

subsequent perceptions of subsequent perceptions of mentoring and relationship mentoring and relationship quality with college teachersquality with college teachers

Simon LaroseLaval University

Annie Bernier & Nathalie SoucyUniversity of Montreal

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

Volume 22(3), 2005, Pages 399-415

PurposePurpose

• To determine if attachment insecurity, among college students, moderates the effect of emotive security in mentoring upon the student-perceived outlook of a past student-mentor program and student-teacher relationship quality

TheoryTheory

• Attachment moderates the effect of perceived security in mentoring on the outlook of past mentored-mentor and mentored-teacher relationships

HypothesisHypothesis

1. Positive mentored perceptions of mentoring and security of mentoring share a positive correlation

2. Insecure attachment functionally reduces prevalence of the relationships presented in theory.

VariablesVariables

• Independent– Perceived Security in Mentoring– Attachment Insecurity

• Dependent– Subsequent Perception of Mentoring– Quality of Relationship with Teachers

TheoreticalTheoretical ConstructsConstructs

• Perceived Security in Mentoring (IV1): the student-perceived emotion associated with the mentor relationship

– Operationally Defined: the student perception of the student-mentor interpersonal relationship (through surveya.)

– Instruments of Perceived Security in Mentoring assessment: The 25-item Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA).

a. Carried out at time-2 immediately following the program (T2)

Theoretical Constructs (cont.)Theoretical Constructs (cont.)

• Subsequent Perception of Mentoring (DV1): the student-perceived maintenance of the relationship and satisfaction with a mentoring program

– Operationally Defined: the combined (r=.74) current student-perceived maintenance (eight items, alpha=.86) and satisfaction (eight items, alpha=.84) after five months following completion of the mentor program.

• Maintenance: the persistence of program-developed interpersonal relationships

– Extent– Quality

• Satisfaction: the return of program-completion– Usefulness

Theoretical Constructs (cont.)Theoretical Constructs (cont.)• Perception of Relationship Quality with Teachers (DV2A

and DV2B): the student-perceived ease of self-disclosure during and of help-seeking behavior through interpersonal interaction with teachers

– Operationally Defined: the student perception of interpersonal student-teacher relationship interaction (through survey along five interaction characteristics)

• Conflictb.

• Unfairness

• Comfort of personal disclosure

• Intensity of informal teacher relations outside the classroom

• Comfort in seeking helpb.

– Instruments of Relationship Quality Perception assessment: • The Measure of Affective Relationships with College Teacher (MARCT)• The Seeking Help from Teacher subscale of the Test of Reactions and Adaptation in

College (SHT/TRAC)

b. Characteristics identified in final analysis of Results that were selected, through factor analysis

(at Time1 and Time2), to avoid repetitive analysis and/or arbitrary scales

Theoretical Constructs (cont.)Theoretical Constructs (cont.)

• Attachment (IV2): a security or an insecurity history is developmentally internalized alternating through stages of style and subsequent working models of attachment (WMA)

– Operationally defined as being either• Secure (Autonomous)

-or-• Insecure, consistent of:

– Dismissing (avoidant)– Preoccupied (anxious-ambivalent)– Unresolved (fearful)

– Instrument of WMA assessment: Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)

SubjectsSubjects• Research Population: three Universities with each having a

mentor program for academically at-risk freshmen

– Common Mentor Program Goals• Voluntary participation• One-on-one student-mentor relationships• Program emphasis on the prevention of academic, social and emotional

adjustment problems• Exclusion of support on specific academic matters

– Students (N=102; 31 male and 71 female)• Academically at-risk (students’ high school grades were relatively poor)• French-speaking universities (25% public-urban, 42% public-rural, and 33%

private-urban)• 18.1 mean age

– Mentors (N=10; 5 male and 5 female)• Current teachers of the respective university• Each receiving a 3 hr. training session, collectively• 39 mean age (8.75 SD)• Experience

– Teaching: 3-37 yrs. (13 mean yrs.)– Mentoring: 30-450 hrs. (150 mean hrs.)

ResultsResults• Correlations between Attachment (AAI scores) and

Perceived Security in Mentoring (IPPA scores)

– AAI dismissing aspect and IPPA scores• -.21 (p*<.05)

– AAI preoccupied aspect and IPPA scores• -.22 (p*<.05)

» “Weakly Associated”

Results (cont.)Results (cont.)

– 6% expectation of variance among subsequent perception of mentoring [Table 1: Step 2] and perception of teachers (Conflictual relationships) [Table 2: Time 1/Step 3] was obtained by Security in mentoring (SM)

• High-level SM predicts (respective of the latter): – a persistence of program-developed interpersonal

relationships and a return on program-completion (after 5 mo.)

– low interpersonal conflict and high comfort in seeking help (while controlling for Conflictual relationships)

– Expectation of variance among subsequent perception of teachers [Table 2: Time 1/Step 3] while controlling for Supportive relationships was not obtained by SM with significance

• Expectation of DV1 and DV2 anticipated among at-risk students provided through regression analyses

Results (cont.)Results (cont.)

– Significant attachment interaction with security in mentoring effect upon

• Perception of mentoring (p***<.001) [preoccupied score X security in mentoring]

• Perception of conflictual relationships with teachers (p**<.01) [dismissiveness score X security in mentoring]

– Non-significant attachment interaction with security in mentoring effect upon

• Perception of supportive relationships with teachers

• Moderating of Security in mentoring effect upon perception of mentoring and relationships with teachers – by way of attachment

ConclusionsConclusions

• Reject the Null Hypothesis

1. Positive mentored perceptions of mentoring and security of mentoring share a positive correlation– Correlations between Attachment (AAI scores) and Perceived

Security in Mentoring (IPPA scores) were “weakly associated”

2. Insecure attachment functionally reduces prevalence of the relationships presented in theory.– Highly dismissive dispositions of attachment were found to

increase the effect strength of perceived security in mentoring on the outlook of past mentored-mentor and mentored-teacher relationships and the moderating role of attachment

ConclusionsConclusions• Security in mentoring was inversely related to

relationship quality perception– Not significantly related to relationship quality

perception – supportive

• Attachment preoccupation tendency moderated security in mentoring effect upon subsequent perception of mentoring

• Attachment dismissing tendency moderated security in mentoring effect upon relationship quality perception-conflictual

Room for ChangeRoom for Change• Less range in mentoring experience• Confound: students leaving home to attend school (42%

left home to attend college)• Interaction: attachment X perceived security in mentoring

– Autonomous (n=67)– Dismissing (n=28)– Preoccupied (n=7)

• AAI scores were limited to Time 3 and may have changed in Time 4 (a change due to college transition)

• No established construct validity: Subsequent perceptions of mentoring assessment produced by the researchers

• Repeated measures design with a baseline– No Subject Control Group