Analyzing Adolescent Attachment: The Association between Peer Attachment and Youth’s Relationships with Important Adults

Jasmine C. Alexander-Brookings, Mark Vincent B. Yu, Shannon M. Varga, Valerie A. Futch Ehrlich Ph.D., Nancy L. Deutsch Ph.D.

Background• Previous research on youth mentoring has focused on program development

and evaluation, youth psychosocial and academic adjustment outcomes, and characteristics of effective mentors. Less attention has been paid to individual youth characteristics, that may effect mentoring relationships' effectiveness (Grossman & Rhodes, 2002; Rhodes & DuBois, 2008).

• Some research suggests that girls can pose challenges for mentors (Bogat & Liang, 2005) and the fact that girls are often referred to mentoring programs due to relational issues with their mothers (Rhodes, Lowe, Litchfield, & Walsh-Samp, 2008) suggests that attachment styles may play a role in the development of mentoring relationships

• In 2011, DuBois found that at-risk youth, particularly those with individual (as opposed to environmental) risk factors, benefited more from mentoring.

• Although DuBois (2011) mainly defined individual risk factors in terms of delinquent behavior and discipline problems, youth’s attachment style should also be considered. Perceived low attachment to peers has been associated with detrimental youth outcomes such as anxiety, depression, problems of conduct, and alienation (Nada Raja, 1992).

• This study seeks to understand the relationship between peer attachment and youth’s relationships with important adults in order to provide evidence to evaluate whether relational individual risk factors of youth enhance or impede the benefits of mentoring relationships

Research Questions

Methods, Cont’d Results, Cont’d

RQ1: What is the association between youth's perceived attachment to peers and the quality of youth's relationships with significant, non-parental adults (herein known as "VIP’s")?RQ2: Does perceived peer attachment predict relationship quality with significant non-parental adult 1 year later?

• The IPPA Scale has three subscales of attachment, including communication, trust, and alienation. Each of these were individually considered, in addition to an overall peer attachment score.

• The observed correlation between overall peer attachment and relationship quality suggests that peer attachment can serve as a predictor for relationship quality. Although some individual risk factors may enhance mentor relationship benefits, this study indicates that relational risk factors may not improve effectiveness.

• These findings support Dubois’ (2011) social competency theory, which states youth who are better able to regulate their emotions, have positive temperaments and/or engaging attributes may be primed for higher levels of involvement with adults.

• It is understandable that peer communication was consistently correlated with VIP relationship quality because it is expected that youth who are exhibit high levels of peer communication will be capable of meaningful levels of communication with important adults. Given that the relationship between peer alienation and relationship quality became significant at T2, it may be important for programs to consider alienation as a potential risk identifier over time.

• Future research should consider the inverse relationship to determine whether relationship quality can serve as a predictor for peer attachment (Thomson & Zand, 2010).

• Limitations in this study include small sample size and non-representative ethnicity demographics among the sample. It is also worth noting that because nominated VIP’s from T1 and T2 may not be the same adult, there may exists a lack of consistency across the data, creating a possible deficit in reliability.

Strength of Relationship at T1

Strength of Relationship at T2

Variable𝛽

(SE B)(R²)

𝛽(SE B)(R²)

OverallPeer Attachment

0.011*** (.003)(.252)

0.011**(.004)(.327)

Peer Trust0.220**

(.009)(.187)

0.180(.013)(.235)

Peer Communication0.320****

(.009)(.313)

0.360***(.010)(.429)

Peer Alienation-0.016(.010)(.111)

-0.020*(.012)(.260)

Variable Scale Description Reliability Data Source

PeerAttachment

Inventory of Parent and

Peer Attachment (Armden & Greenberg,

1987)

20-item self-report questionnaire with a five point likert-scale

response format (Almost Never/Never

True – Almost Always/Always True),

Ex. “My friends accept me the way that I am.”

Subscales: Trust, Communication, and

Alienation

𝛼 = 0.86Subscales:

Trust, 𝛼 = 0.91Communication,

𝛼 = 0.87Alienation, 𝛼 =

0.72

T1 Pre-Interview

Survey

VIP Relationship

Quality

Strengths of Relationship

Scale (Rhodes,

2005)

10-item self-report questionnaire with a five point likert-scale

response format (Not at all true – Always True)

Ex. “When I’m with [VIP], I feel safe.”

𝛼 = 0.655 T1 and T2 Youth

Interviews

Peer Attachment

at T1

Strength of Relationship at T1(Controlling for Gender and

Age)

RQ1

Strength of Relationship at T2(Controlling for Gender and

Age)

GOAL: To Observe

Relationship Correlation

GOAL: To Predict

Relationship Outcomes

RQ2

Using Simple Linear Regression

Analysis (SPSS)Methods• Adolescent youth (N=41 [N=19 Males; N=22 Females]) were recruited from

various schools, after-school programs, and community programs within a mid-sized community in the mid-Atlantic to participate in a longitudinal study that sought to understand non-parental youth-adult relationships across contexts during adolescence. Participants were surveyed and interviewed at two time points, approximately one year apart, most recently during the 2014-2015 academic year.

• During each interview, participants were asked to nominate a (“VIP”), who believes in and cares deeply about them, inspires them to do their best, influences the choices they make, etc. and completed the Strengths of Relationship scale for that adult. A youth’s VIP may change between T1 and T2.

• 31 participants identified as White, 4 identified as African-American, 2 identified as Hispanic, 3 identified as Multi-Ethnic and 1 did not report his/her racial identification. 6 participants are eligible for free or reduced lunch.

• Participant ages ranged from ranged from 12 to 18 years old, with a reported mean age of 13.98 at T1 and 15.56 at T2.

ResultsRQ1: There is a significant positive correlation between overall peer attachment and relationship quality with youth’s VIP’s, as evidenced in the comparison at T1. There is also a significant correlation in the peer trust and peer communication attachment subscales and relationship quality. RQ2: There is a significant positive correlation between overall peer attachment and relationship quality at T2. This was also apparent for the communication and alienation attachment subscales.

Discussion

*The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant #R305B090002 to the University of Virginia. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

*𝑝 ≤ .10, ∗∗ 𝑝 ≤ .05, ∗∗∗ 𝑝 ≤ .01, ∗∗∗∗ 𝑝 ≤ .001

Summary of Regression Analyses for RQ1 and RQ2

Contact: jasmine.alexander-brookings@uconn.edu

Analytical Methodological Model

*References available upon request