Wilkinson, Ross B. and Sarandrea, Anne Marie (2005) Age and Sex Differences in the Influence of Attachment Relationships on Adolescent Psychological Health

8/10/2019 Wilkinson, Ross B. and Sarandrea, Anne Marie (2005) Age and Sex Differences in the Influence of Attachment Rel

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AgeandSexDifferencesinAttachment 1

AgeandSexDifferencesintheInfluenceofAttachmentRelationshipson

AdolescentPsychologicalHealth:AnAttachmentFunctionsApproach

RossB.Wilkinson

&

AnneMarieSarandrea

TheAustralianNationalUniversity

2005

Correspondenceto:DrRossWilkinson,SchoolofPsychology,Building39,TheAustralian

NationalUniversity,ACT 0200,Australia.

Email:[email protected]

Fax:+61261250499


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Abstract

Thequalityofadolescentattachmentwithmothers,fathers,andpeers,andthe

impactoftheserelationshipsonpsychologicalhealthandselfesteemisexamined

inasampleof615highschoolstudents.Usinganattachmentfunctionsperspective,

itisarguedthatdifferentattachmentrelationshipshavedifferentaffectson

adjustmentdependingonageandgender.Theresultssupporttheviewthat

attachmentfunctionsdevelopinpeerrelationshipsbeforewithdrawingfrom

parentalrelationshipsandthatthisprocessoccursatdifferentagesandhas

differentconsequencesforselfesteemanddepressioninadolescence.

Unexpectedly,maternalattachmenthadagreaterimpactonpsychological

adjustmentforgirlswhilepaternalattachmenthadagreaterimpactforboys.Itis

concludedthatwhiletheattachmentfunctionsframeworkisusefulfor

understandingdevelopmentalchangesinattachmentnetworksduring

adolescence,furtherindividualdifferenceanddevelopmentalfactorsmayneedto

beconsidered.


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AgeandSexDifferencesintheInfluenceofAttachmentRelationshipson

AdolescentPsychologicalHealth:AnAttachmentFunctionsApproach

Adolescentsfacethechallengeofmarkedbiological,cognitive,andpsychological

changestakingplaceinanevolvingsocialenvironment.Ithasbeenarguedthatthese

changesincreasevulnerabilitytoexperiencingdeclinesinpsychologicalhealth(Adams&

Gullotta,1989;BrooksGunn&Petersen,1991;Weller&Weller,2000)and,althougha

rangeoffactorscontributetoadaptiveadjustmentinadolescence(Rutter,1990;

Serocynski,Jacuez,&Cole,2003),itisthequalityofinterpersonalrelationsthathasoften

beenidentifiedasakeydeterminant(Youniss&Smollar,1985).Parentalandpeer

relationshipsareoftenconsideredthemostcentralinadolescence,althoughtheirimpacts

onadolescentpsychologicalhealtharenotnecessarilythesame(Wilkinson,2004).

Traditionalviewsofadolescentparentrelationshipsarguethatadolescentsdesire

independencefromtheirparentsandthataprimarydevelopmentaltaskofadolescenceis

toachieveemotionalautonomyfromthem(Batgos&Leadbeater,1994;Erikson,1968).As

childrenenteradolescenceawidersocialnetworkbecomesavailableandmoresustaining

andsupportiverelationshipswithpeersandfriendsaredeveloped(Furman&

Buhrmester,1992;OKoon,1997;Youniss&Smollar,1985).Therehasbeenagrowing

recognitionoftheincreasedimportanceofextrafamilialrelationshipsthroughchildhood

andadolescenceandincreasedrecognitionthatpositiveandsupportiveparentalandpeer

relationshipsareadaptivefornormativechallengessuchasachievingindependence,self

reliance,andestablishingidentity(Allen,Hauser,Bell,&OConnor,1994;Allan&Land,


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1999;Noller&Callan,1991;Steinberg&Silverberg,1986).

Attachmenttheory(Ainsworth,1989;Bowlby,1969/1997)providesatheoretical

frameworkforunderstandinghowthequalityofinterpersonalrelationshipsdevelopand

influencespsychologicalhealthacrossthelifespan.Thistheoryproposesthatcognitive

schemas(internalworkingmodels)developedduringinfancyandchildhood,basedon

experienceswithprimarycaregivers,influencecurrentandfuturerelationshipsand

psychologicaladjustment.Researchwithinfants,children,andbothyoungerandolder

adultshassupportedthecontentionthatpositivebeliefsandexpectationsabout

interpersonalrelationshipsareintimatelyinvolvedwithpsychologicalwellbeingand

adaptationwhilenegativebeliefsandexpectationsareimplicatedinpsychologicaldistress

anddysfunction(Bradley&Cafferty,2001;Higgins,2003;Shaver&Mikulincer,2002).The

existingbodyofliteraturealsosupportsalinkbetweentheperceivedqualityof

attachmentrelationshipsandmentalhealthoutcomesinadolescence(Armsden&

Greenberg,1987;Kobak&Sceery,1988;Raja,McGee,&Stanton,1992;Wilkinson&

Walford,2001;Wilkinson,2004).Theobjectiveofthisstudyistopresentandevaluatean

attachmentfunctionsperspectiveofkeyadolescentrelationshipsthatassistsin

understandinghowtheserelationshipsdevelopandchangethroughadolescence,and

howdifferentattachmentrelationshipshavedifferentimpactsonpsychological

adjustment.

AttachmentinAdolescence

Attachmenttheory(Ainsworth,1989;Bowlby,1969/1997)arguesthatintimate


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relationshipsplayacentralroleinthedevelopmentofpersonalidentityandadaptive

interpersonalfunctioning.Earlyattachmentexperiencesarearguedtoinfluencethe

individualspatternofinterpersonalrelationshipsandfunctioningacrossthelifespanand

thereisabodyofresearchexaminingattachmentfrominfancythroughtoolderage

(Ainsworth,1979;Allen&Land,1999;Doherty&Feeney,2004;Hazan&Shaver,1987).

Thestudyofattachmentinadolescence,however,hasbeenconsideredparticularly

challengingandcomplexasitisduringthisperiodofdevelopmentthattheattachment

networkofindividualsexpandsbeyondtheimmediatefamilytoincludepeersand

romanticpartnersandattachmentorientationsbegintoshift(Hazan&Zeifman,1994).

Empiricalresearchhassupportedthecontinuedimportanceofparentalattachments for

adolescentpsychologicalhealth.Inparticular,adolescentswhohavesecureattachments

withtheirparentsdisplayastrongersenseofidentity,higherselfesteem,greatersocial

competence,andbetteremotionaladjustment.Ontheotherhand,insecurelyattached

adolescentsdisplayhigherlevelsofdepression,anxiety,anddistress(Armsden,

McCauley,Greenberg,Burke,&Mitchell,1990;Rice,Cunningham,&Young,1997).Ina

studyofattachmentinearlyadolescence,Muris,Meesters,vanMelick,andZwambag

(2001)foundthathigherlevelsofparentalattachmentwereassociatedwithdecreased

anxietyanddepression.Similarly,WilkinsonandWalford(2001),inastudyofseniorhigh

schoolstudents,foundthatpositiveparentalattachmentwasassociatedwithincreased

positiveaffect,lifesatisfactionandhappinessanddecreasednegativeaffectandanxiety,

independentofpersonalityorlifeevents.


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overall,differentpatternsofintimacyinmaternalandpaternalrelationshipsdeveloped

overtime.InastudyofattachmentandpsychologicalhealthinNorwegianandAustralian

adolescents,Wilkinson(2004)foundthatsexdifferencesinmeanlevelsofparental

attachmentsweregenerallysmallandonlywithlargesamplesizes(n >1500)didthey

becomesignificant.

Perhapsamoreimportantissuethantherelativelevelsofparentalattachmentistheir

differentialimpactonadolescentadjustment.Again,thelimitedresearchonthisissue has

producedinconsistentresults.Allenetal.(1994)reportedthatfathershadagreaterimpact

onadolescentwellbeingthanmothers.Similarly,Riceetal.(1997)foundthatattachment

tofatherswasabetterpredictorthanmaternalattachmentofsocialadjustmentandself

efficacyforadolescentmales.However,forfemalesinthatstudy,bothparental

attachmentswerestrongpredictors.Inalongitudinalstudyofthetransitiontohigh

school,Kenny,Lomax,BrabeckandFife(1998)foundthatbothmaternalandpaternal

attachmentatgradeeightcontributedtochangesinpsychologicalwellbeingoneyear

laterformales,butnotforfemales.Ontheotherhand,KennyandGallagher(2002)found

thatforbothgirlsandboysthereweresimilarrelationshipsbetweenpaternaland

maternalattachmentandinstrumentalandsocial/relationalcompetence.

Thereareanumberofstudiesthathavefocussedonagedifferencesinparental

attachmentrelationships.Paterson,FieldandPrior(1994)foundthatwhilefemales

continuetoutilisetheirmothersforsupportinlateadolescence,malesdecreasedtheir

relianceonmothersforsupportandproximity.Contrarytothis,Papinietal.(1991)found


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thatasgirlsmaturetheyperceivelessclosenesstobothparentswhileboysactuallyfeel

closertomothersandlessattachedtofathers.Othershaveshownthatolderadolescent

femalesperceivetheirfathersaslessavailablethandoyoungerfemales,andreportbeing

lessdependentontheirfathersthanmothers(Lieberman,Doyle,&Markiewicz,1999).A

longitudinalDutchstudy(vanWel,Linssen,&Abma,2000)foundthatinmidadolescence

therelationshipbetweengirlsandparentswaslesspositiveandhadgreaternegative

consequencesforpsychologicalwellbeingthanformales.Althoughtheparentalbond

increasedinlateadolescenceforfemales,overalltheycontinuedtohavelower

psychologicalwellbeingthanmales.

Despiteevidenceevidencethatparentsremaintheprimaryattachmentfiguresin

adolescence(Hazan&Zeifman,1994;Doherty&Feeney,2004),theequivocalresearch

findingsmakesitdifficulttoconcludethatthereiscertaintyabouttherelative

contributionsofmaternalandpaternalattachmenttothepsychologicalhealthof

adolescentsonsanddaughters.Further,thesepotentialdifferenceshavenotgenerally

beenexaminedinthecontextofthebroaderanddevelopingattachmentnetworkof

adolescents.Itiscentraltothedevelopmentalviewofattachmentthatadolescenceisseen

asaperiodwhereattachmentnetworksexpandbeyondtheimmediatefamily(Bowlby,

1988;Ainsworth,1989;Doherty&Feeney,2004).Severalstudieshavedemonstratedthat

closefriendsmayserveasimportantattachmentfiguresamongadolescentsandyoung

adults(Doherty&Feeney,2004;Hazan&Zeifman,1994;Trinke&Bartholomew,1997).

Buhrmester(1992)foundthatadolescentsnonfamilial,intimaterelationshipsare


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characterisedbycloseaffectionalbonds,ageappropriateproximityseeking,separation

protest,securebase,andsafehavenbehaviouranalogoustoparentinfantattachment

patterns.HazanandZeifman(1994),ontheotherhand,foundthatduringadolescence

individualsparticularlylooktotheirpeersforcompanionship(proximityseeking)and

emotionalsupport(safehaven)butthatparentsarestillthemajorsourceofotheraspects

ofattachmentneeds.

Theimportanceofclosefriendshipsinadolescenceisdemonstratedbyevidencethat

positivepeerrelationshipsarelinkedtoincreasedpsychologicalhealthandselfesteem

andadecreasedriskofemotionalandbehaviouralproblems(Armsden&Greenberg,

1987;Youniss&Smollar,1985).Whilesomeauthorshaveconcludedthatpeerattachment

relationshipsaremoreimportantthanparentalrelationshipsforadolescentwellbeing

(e.g.,Laible,Carlo,&Raffaelli,2000),othershavearguedthatthequalityofparental

attachmentsremaincriticalforadolescentmentalhealth(Raja,etal.,1992).Armsdenand

colleagues(1990)comparedthesecurityofparentandpeerattachmentamongfourgroups

ofadolescents:clinicallydepressedadolescents,nondepressedadolescents,non

depressedpsychiatriccontrols,andadolescentswithresolveddepression.Theyfoundthat

depressedadolescentsreportedsignificantlylowerparentalattachmentthaneitherofthe

controlgroupsandlesssecurepeerattachmentthanthepsychiatriccontrolgroup.Ina

seriesofstudies,Wilkinson(2004)foundthatthequalityofparentalandpeerrelationships

impactedondifferentaspectsofadolescentpsychologicalhealth.Whilepositiveparental

attachmentwasdirectlyassociatedwithdecreaseddepressionandincreasedselfesteem,


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selfesteemfullymediatedtherelationshipofpeerattachmenttodepression.

Overall,thereisadearthofresearchexaminingthejointimpactofparentalandpeer

attachmentonadolescentpsychologicalhealthoutcomesandthelittlethatthereishas

beeninconsistent.Inpart,thismaybeduetoafailuretotakeintoaccountshiftsin

adolescentattachmentsandfunctionsovertime.Accordingtothedevelopmentalviewof

attachment,thereareidentifiablechangesintheattachmentnetworksofindividuals

duringadolescence.HazanandZeifman(1994)foundthatfromchildhoodtolate

adolescencetheorientationoftargetsforattachmentfunctionsmovedfromparents

towardspeersandthatforolderadolescents(1517yearolds)therewasaclearpreference

forpeersfortheproximityseekingandsafehaven(emotionalsupport)functionsof

attachment.Infact,certainaspectsoffriendship,suchasintimacy,securityandtrust,

relevanttosecureattachments,maynotemergeasmajordimensionsofpeerrelationships

untiladolescence(Schneider,Atkinson,&Tardif,2001).AllanandLand(1999)arguethat

peersincreasinglytakeontheroleofattachmentrelationshipsbymidadolescenceandby

lateadolescencelongtermrelationshipscanbeformed(e.g.,romanticpartners)which

serveascomplete attachmentfigures.HazanandZeifman(1994),ontheotherhand,

arguethatacompletetransferofattachmentfunctionsdoesnotoccuruntilstable,sexual,

romanticrelationshipsdevelopinadulthood.

Thereisgoodevidence,then,thatpeersareincreasinglyutilisedasattachmentfigures

duringtheperiodwhenadolescentsareundertakingthetaskofdevelopingindependence

fromparents.However,althoughthischangeissometimesviewedasatransferof


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attachment(e.g.,Doherty&Feeney,2004;Fraley&Davis,1997;Hazan&Zeifman,1997),it

doesnotseemtobethecasethatpreviousattachmentrelationshipsarecompletely

forsakenforthesenewfoundattachmentfigures.Researchindicatesthatfamilybondsare

nottotallysupplantedbyfriendshipsinadolescence(Blyth,Hill,&Thiel,1982;Greenberg,

etal.,1983;Patersonetal.,1994)anditcanbearguedthatthereisnotacomplete

withdrawalofattachmentfunctionsfromparentsinfavourofpeersduringadolescence.

Whilethereisadevelopmentalshiftofsomecomponentsofattachmentfromparentsto

peers,parentsremainprimaryattachmentfiguresuntillateadolescence(Hazen&

Zeifman,1994)andattachmenttoparentsremainsimportantintoadulthood.Positive

parentalrelationshipsmay,infact,providetheplatform(securebase)necessarytoinitiate

andmaintainhealthypeerrelationships(Ducharme,Doyle,&Markiewicz,2002).

The

Present

Study

Whiletheevidenceisclearthatattachmentnetworksexpandbeyondtheimmediate

familyinadolescence,itisnotclearwhattheconsequencesofthisareforcurrentparental

relationshipsandpsychologicalhealth.Theobjectiveofthecurrentstudyistoexamine

howtherelationshipbetweenthematrixofmajoradolescentattachmentrelationshipsand

psychologicalhealthchangeswithageanddiffersaccordingtogender.Previousresearch

haslinkedselfesteemanddepressiontothequalityofeitherparentalorpeerrelationships

(e.g.,Patersonetal.,1994;Wilkinson,2004)buthasnotcomparedtherelativeinfluenceof

maternal,paternalandpeerattachmentsforadolescentsaccordingtosexandage.While

muchoftheliteratureontheseissueswouldappeartobeinconsistentorcontradictory,


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somecoherencemaybegeneratedbyexaminingtheargumentsandevidencefroman

attachmentfunctionsframework(Doherty&Feeney,2004;Hazan&Zeifman,1994)

appliedtothedevelopmentalperiodofadolescence.Threemainprinciplesareproposed

basedonthisapproach:AttachmentExpansion,AttachmentWithdrawal,andAttachment

Priorities.

TheAttachmentExpansionPrincipleisbasedontheevidencethatasadolescents

matureitisnormativefortheattachmentnetworktobecomeextendedtoincludeclose

interpersonalrelationshipsbeyondthefamily.Theseextraparental attachmentswill

usuallybewithpeerswhoaresimilarinage.Astheadolescentmaturesattachment

functionsdevelopandbecomemoreimportantintheserelationships.TheAttachment

WithdrawalPrinciplestatesthatthewithdrawalofattachmentfunctionsfromexisting

closeinterpersonalrelationshipsonlyoccursafterattachmentfunctionshavealready

developedintheextendedattachmentnetwork.Foradolescents,withdrawalof

attachmentfunctionsfromparentsoccurslaterinmaturation,afterattachmentfunctions

havebeeninitiallyestablishedandbeguntodevelopinpeerrelationships.Astheseother

relationshipscontinuetodeveloptheimportanceofexistingparentalattachmentswill

thendiminish.TheAttachmentPrioritiesPrincipleappliestothesequenceinwhich

attachmentfunctionsdevelopandwithdrawduringadolescence.Itsisarguedthatthe

differentattachmentfunctionsarearrangedhierarchicallyandthattheydevelopand

withdrawatdifferentstagesofmaturationaccordingtothishierarchy.Lesscentral

attachmentfunctionswilldevelopinnewrelationshipsfirstandalsowithdrawfrom


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extantrelationshipsfirst.Theorderofpriorityforfunctionsfromlowesttohighestis:

proximityseeking,safehaven,separationprotest,andsecurebase.Asproximityseekingis

thefunctionwiththelowestpriorityitwillbethefirsttotransferandthenwithdraw.Safe

havenwilldevelopinnewrelationshipsandwithdrawfromexistingrelationshipsafter

proximityseekinghasbeenestablished.Thelasttodevelopandwithdrawwillbesecure

base.Thiswillonlyhappenaftertheestablishmentofstableromanticrelationshipsin

adulthood.

Basedontheseprinciplesanumberofhypothesescanbegeneratedwithregardtothe

specificpsychologicalhealthimpactsofageandsexdifferencesinrelationshipsduring

adolescence.Firstly,becauseproximityseekingdevelopsearlyinnewextrafamilial

relationships,andbecauseproximityseekinghasaprimaryimpactonthedeveloping

identityoftheadolescent,wepredictthatthequalityofpeerrelationshipswillhavea

similarandsignificantinfluenceonselfesteemforbothyoungerandolderadolescence.

However,basedonthenotionthatattachmentfunctionswithdrawfromexisting

relationshipsonlyaftertheydevelopinnewrelationships,thequalityofparental

attachmentwillhavealargerinfluenceonselfesteemforyoungerthanolderadolescents.

Differenthypothesesaregeneratedwithregardtodepressionbecauseemotional

support,thesafehavenfunction,hasamajorroleinamelioratingthepresenceof

depressivesymptoms.Basedontheargumentthatsafehavenfunctionsdevelopinnew

relationshipslaterinmaturation,wepredictthatpeerrelationshipswillhavealarger

influenceondepressionforolderadolescentsthantheywillforyoungeradolescents.


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Further,becausethereisadelaybetweenthedevelopmentoffunctionsinnew

relationshipsandtheirwithdrawalfromexistingparentalrelationships,parental

attachmentwillhaveaninfluenceondepressionirrespectiveoftheadolescentsage.

Similarhypothesescanbegeneratedwithregardtosexdifferencesbyconsideringthe

maturationaldifferencebetweenadolescentgirlsandboys.Itisarguedthatbecausegirls

aremorephysicallyandsociallymaturethanboysofanequivalentage,thepatternof

relationshipsbetweenpeerandparentalattachmentsandpsychologicaloutcomesforgirls

willbemorelikethatforolderadolescents,whileforboysitwillbemorelikethatfor

youngeradolescents.

Method

Participants

Participantswere615(291females,324males)volunteerhighschoolstudentsattending

eitherprivate(60%,n=369)orpublic(40%,n=246)schoolsintheAustralianCapital

Territory.Agesforgirlsrangedfrom14to18.5years(Mean=16.5,SD=0.94)andforboys

rangedfrom13.5to18.7years(Mean=16.4,SD=0.80).Participantspredominantlylived

inintactfamilies(76%)with16%fromsingleparentfamiliesandafurther8%fromother

situations.Forthisgroupofadolescentsthemajorityofparentswereemployedand,based

onoccupationalstatus,wereofmiddletouppersocioeconomicstatus.Amajorityof

respondentswereEuropeanAustralians(83%)orAsianAustralians(11%).

Measures

Aquestionnairepackagethatincludedthefollowingmeasureswasadministered.


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Attachment.Qualityofadolescentattachmentwasassessedusingamodifiedversionof

theInventoryofParentandPeerAttachment(Armsden&Greenberg,1987).15itemseach

separatelyassessedmother,fatherandpeerattachmentquality.Respondentsratedeach

itemusingafivepointscalerangingfromalmostneverornever(1)toalwaysoralmost

always(5)toindicatethedegreetowhichtheitemsweretrue.Scalescoreswerethesum

ofitemsandhighscoresindicatedgreaterperceivedattachmentthanlowscores.Internal

consistencyonthe15itemmeasures(MotherAttachment=.91;FatherAttachment,=

.92;PeerAttachment,=.85)werecomparabletoArmsdenandGreenberg(1987).

Depression.A10itemscalewasusedtoassessdepressivesymptomatologyduringthe

pastmonth(Wilkinson,2004).Exampleitemsinclude,IvefeltsadorunhappyandIve

hadtroubleconcentrating.Respondentswereaskedtoindicatehowoftentheyhad

experiencedthatsymptominthelastmonthusinga3pointscale(1=never,2=someof

thetime,3=alotofthetime).Thescalescorewasderivedbysummingitemsandhigher

scoresindicategreaterdepression.Internalconsistencyofthescalewashigh(Cronbachs

=.81).

SelfEsteem.Selfesteemwasmeasuredusingthe16itemSelfLiking/SelfCompetence

ScaleRevised(SLSCR)(Tafarodi&Swann,2001).Thismeasureassessesselfesteem

identifiedasthepersonalappraisalofoneselfinrelationtosocialvaluesandworth(Self

Liking)andthevalueofqualitiesthatreflectabilitiesandskills(SelfCompetency).Afive

pointratingscalewasusedtoindicatetheextenttowhichparticipantsagreedwitheach

itemdescription(1=stronglydisagreeto5=stronglyagree).AnoverallSelfEsteem


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scorewascalculatedbysummingtheitemsandhigherscoresindicatehighselfesteem.

Basedonthecurrentsample,thereliabilityoftheoverallscalewashigh(Cronbachs=

.90).

Procedure

Informationaboutthestudywasdistributedtotheschools,parents,andstudents.Both

parentalandindividualconsentwasattainedbeforestudentsparticipated.The

questionnairebookletswereadministeredbytheresearcherstoclassesofstudentsin

normalclasstime.

Results

Resultsarepresentedinthreeparts.Firstly,preliminaryanddescriptivestatisticsare

presented.Secondly,2X2multivariateanalysesofvariance(MANOVA)areemployedto

assessSexandAgemainandinteractioneffectsonthepsychologicalhealthand

attachmentvariables.Thirdly,themainandinteractionseffects(forSexandAge)ofthe

attachmentvariablesonpsychologicalhealthareexaminedthroughaseriesofmultiple

regressionanalyses.

Twocaseswereidentifiedasoutlierswithextremescoresononeormorevariablesand

threecaseswereidentifiedasmultivariateoutliersusingtheproceduresoutlinedby

TabachnickandFidell(1996).Thesecaseswere excludedfromfurtheranalysisleavinga

totalof610casesinthesample.Inordertoinvestigateagedifferences,participantswere

dividedintoyounger(14to16.49years,n=309)andolder(16.5to18.5years,n=301)

groupsonthebasisofamediansplit.Meansandstandarddeviationsforthevariablesof


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interestcategorisedbySexandAgearepresentedinTable1.

Twoseparate2X2MANOVAswereconductedtoexaminedifferencesinmeanlevels

ofpsychologicalhealthandattachment.Firstly,DepressionandSelfEsteemwerespecified

asdependentvariablesinrelationtoSex(FemaleversusMale)andAge(Youngerversus

Older)asindependentvariables.Thereweresignificantdifferencesbetweenmalesand

females,F(2,605)=22.19,p


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interactionbetweenSexandAgewasnotsignificant.FollowupunivariateFtests

revealedthat,inlinewithpreviousresearch,adolescentfemalesscoredhigheronPeer

Attachment(M=58.22),F(1,590)=151.23,p


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theeffectsofindividualindependentvariablesonpsychologicaloutcomesfordifferent

groupingsofadolescents.Thus,separatemodelsregressingrelevantcontrol(eitherSexor

Age)andattachmentvariables(Mother,Father,andPeer)onthetwooutcomemeasures

(DepressionorSelfEsteem)weredeveloped;onesetforyoungerandolderadolescents

(Table3),andtheotherforboysandgirls(Table4).Plannedcomparisonsofrelevant

weightswerethenconductedusingtheFisherZprocedureandconfirmedby

comparisonsoftheslopes(Howell,2002).

AgeDifferences

Resultsfortheseparateregressionmodelspredictingselfesteemforyoungerandolder

adolescentsarepresentedinTable3.Maternalattachment,sex,peerattachment,and

paternalattachmentallsignificantlypredictedselfesteemforyoungeradolescents,inthat

orderofmagnitude.Atotalof30%ofthevarianceinselfesteemscoreswasaccountedfor.

Forolderadolescents18%ofthevarianceinselfesteemscoreswasaccountedforbysex,

PeerAttachment,andMotherAttachment.FatherAttachmentdidnotsignificantlypredict

selfesteemforolderadolescentsinthecontextoftheotherrelationshipvariables.When

comparingthetwogroups,consistentwiththehypotheses,maternalattachmenthada

significantlygreaterpositiveimpactonselfesteemforyoungerthanolderadolescents,

andpeerattachmentratingshadasimilarimpactonselfesteemscoresforbotholderand

youngeradolescents.Ontheotherhand,contrarytopredictions,paternalattachmentdid

nothaveastrongerrelationshipwithselfesteemforyoungerthanolderadolescents.

Table3alsopresentstheregressionmodelsforthetwoagegroupswhenpredicting


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depression.Fortheyoungergroup,alloftheindependentvariables,exceptforPeer

Attachment,weresignificantandnegativepredictors.Atotalof23%ofthevariancewas

accountedfor.Fortheoldergroup,alloftheindependentvariablesweresignificant,

negativepredictorsbutslightlylessvarianceindepressionwasaccountedfor(17%).In

supportofthepredictions,peerattachmentratingshadastrongeramelioratingeffecton

depressionforolderthanyoungeradolescents. Aspredicted,therewasnosignificant

differenceintheroleofparentalattachmentindepressionforthetwogroups.

SexDifferences

Theresultsforthemodelspredictingselfesteemseparatelyformalesandfemalesare

presentedinTable4.Agehadnosignificantimpactonselfesteemforeithermalesor

females.Foryoungwomen,whilematernalandpeerattachmentqualitybothimpacted

positivelyonselfesteemscores,thequalityoftheirrelationshipwiththeirfatherwasnota

significantpredictor.Themodelforgirlsaccountedfor22%ofthevarianceinselfesteem

scores.Foryoungmen,allthreeattachmentvariablesweresignificantpredictorsofself

esteemandofaroundasimilarmagnitude.Intotalthemodelaccountedfor15%ofthe

varianceinthedependentvariable.Theresultsoftheregressionweightcomparisonsdid

notsupportthepredictionswithregardstoparentalattachments.MotherAttachmentwas

amoreimportantpredictorofSelfEsteemforfemalesthanmales.FatherAttachmentwas

notsignificantlydifferentinthetwomodels.Ashypothesised,thePeerAttachmentweight

wasnot significantlydifferentinthemodelsforboysandgirls.

FromTable4itcanbeseenthatforadolescentgirlsalloftheattachmentrelationships


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werenegativelyassociatedwithdepressionandtherewerenoageeffects.Ofthepredictor

variables,maternalattachmentevincedthelargestrelationshipwithdepression.Overall,a

modest24%ofthevarianceinDepressionscoreswasaccountedforinthemodel.Forboys

thesituationwasalittledifferentinthatonlypaternalandpeerattachmentqualitywere

significantpredictorsandneitheragenormaternalrelationshipqualitysignificantly

impactedondepression.Thesetoffourindependentvariablesaccountedfor18%ofthe

variance.Aspredicted,PeerAttachmentwasamoreimportantpredictorofdepressionfor

femalesthanmales.Contrarytothepredictions,MotherAttachmenthadasignificantly

greaterimpactondepressionforfemalesandFatherAttachmenthadasignificantly

greaterimpactondepressionformales.

Discussion

Theresultsofthisstudyprovideevidencethatthereareageandgenderdifferencesin

thewaythatdifferentattachmentrelationshipsimpactonpsychologicalhealthin

adolescents.Theapplicationofanattachmentfunctionsanalysistotheserelationshipsand

theirrolesinpsychologicaladjustmentwaslargelysupported.Thepredictionsgenerated

fromthethreeprinciplesofAttachmentExpansion,Withdrawal,andPrioritieswith

regardtotheinfluenceofmother,father,andpeerattachmentonpsychologicalhealthand

selfesteemweresupportedwithrespecttoagedifferences.However,thepredictionsfor

genderdifferenceswereonlysupportedforpeerandnotparentalattachment.

Studiesthatassessadolescentpsychologicalhealthtypicallyfindthatgirlsreportmore

depressionandlessselfesteemthanboysandtheresultsofthisstudyarenodifferent.


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Thesedifferencesdonotappeartobeafunctionofstageofadolescence,however,as

neitherdepressionnorselfesteemdeterioratedspecificallyforgirlscomparedtoboys.

Overall,youngeradolescentsreportedlessdepressionandhigherselfesteem,supporting

theviewthattheexperienceoftheadolescentbecomesincreasinglyaffectedbyself

doubts,negativeviewsofselfandtheworld,andincreasedperceptionsofstressand

hopelessnessastheymovetowardsadulthood.

Alsoconsistentwithpreviousresearch,increasedlevelsofpeerattachmentwerefound

forbotholderadolescentsandforgirls.Olderadolescentsreportedhigherlevelsofpeer

attachmentthanyoungeradolescents,supportingtheviewthatasadolescentsdevelop

attachmentnetworksbegintoexpandbeyondtheimmediatefamily.Girlsalsoreported

higherlevelsofpeerattachmentthanboys,againconsistentwiththematurationalviewof

increasingattachmentnetworks.Thissexdifferencewassimilarforbotholderand

youngeradolescentsindicatingthatgirlsdidnotbecomedifferentiallymoreorientated

towardspeersthanboys.Contrarytopredictions,however,thisincreaseinpeer

attachmentdidnotappeartobeassociatedwithdecreasesinparentalattachments.

Neithermaternalnorpaternalattachmentdeterioratedaseitherafunctionofageor

gender.Olderadolescents,althoughreportinghigherlevelsofpeerattachment,didnot

reportlowerlevelsofparentalattachment.Thus,itcanbearguedthatthedevelopmentof

new,extraparentalattachmentrelationshipsinadolescencearenotattheexpenseofthe

qualityofexistingcloseinterpersonalrelationships.Further,unliketheevidencefrom

somepreviousresearch(e.g.,Papinietal.,1991),adolescentgirlsdidnotreportanyless


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qualityofrelationshipwitheitherparentthanadolescentboys.Therewasnoevidencefor

eitherasameoroppositesexbiaswithregardtochildparentattachmentquality.Again,

thesefindingsdonotsupporttheviewthatmaturationalaffectsareresponsibleforthe

deteriorationofestablishedattachmentsinfavourofnewinterpersonalattachments.

However,thequestionofdifferencesintherelativeimportanceoftheserelationshipsis

notaddressedbyanexaminationofthemeanlevelsofattachmentratings.Rather,

differencesintheassociationoftheserelationshipswithpsychologicaloutcomeindices

cangiveabetterindicationoftheirrelativeimportanceforadolescentadjustment.

Theinitialexaminationofthebivariatecorrelationspriortotheregressionanalyses

revealedthat,asexpected,therelationshipbetweenDepressionandSelfesteemwas

inverseand,thoughmoderatetostrong(r=.54),nothighenoughtoindicatethatthese

measureswereassessingthesameconstruct.Thecorrelationsalsoindicatedthatthe

qualityofattachmentmeasuresevincedweaktomoderaterelationshipswithdepression

andselfesteem.Therelationshipsbetweenthethreemeasuresofattachmentwere

surprisinglylow(r


24/45


demonstratingthatbothparentalandpeerrelationshipqualityhavepositivebutmodest

affectsonpsychologicalhealthandselfesteeminadolescence.Theamountofvariance

explainedbyanysingularattachmentmeasurewhenpredictingeitheroftheseoutcomes

rangedfromalowof0.3%toahighof9.7%.However,theresultsalsoindicatethatthese

impactsonpsychologicaladjustmentvaryasafunctionoftheaspectofpsychological

healthassessed,thesexoftheadolescent,andtheirage.Whencomparingthemodelsfor

predictingeitherselfesteemordepressionacrossageandsex,themodelsforyounger

adolescentsandforfemalesexplainedthemostvariance.

AgeDifferences

Therewasclearsupportforthehypothesisedmaturationaldifferencesintheinfluence

ofattachmentrelationshipsonpsychologicaladjustment.Peerattachmentshadasimilar

andsignificantinfluenceonselfesteemforbothagegroupssupportingtheviewthatthe

proximityfunctionhademergedintheserelationshipsbyearlyadolescence.Evidenceof

thehypothesisedwithdrawaloftheproximityfunctionwasalsoconfirmedinthat

maternalattachment,whilestillasignificantpredictorofselfesteemforbothyoungerand

olderadolescents,wassignificantlylessimportantforselfesteeminolderadolescents.

Therewasalsosomeevidenceofwithdrawaloftheproximityfunctionevidentinthe

relationshipofpaternalattachmenttoselfesteeminthatfatherattachmentwasa

significantpredictorofselfesteemforyoungeradolescentsbutnotolderadolescents.

However,acomparisonofthecoefficientsfoundthemnottobesignificantlydifferent.It

maybearguedthatmoreweightshouldbeplacedontheevidencewithregardto


25/45


maternalthanpaternalattachment.Althoughoftenacontentiousissueindevelopmental

psychology,theattachmentliteraturehasgenerallyarguedthatmothersaregenerally

preferredastheprimaryattachmentfigurebyinfantswhenavailable,eventhoughthey

maynotbeasresponsiveorsensitivetothechildsneedsasothersintheirenvironment

(Karen,1995).TrinkeandBartholomew(1997)andDohertyandFeeney(2004),intheir

studiesofhierarchiesinadolescentandadultattachmentnetworks,foundthat

participantsconsistentlyrankedmothersabovefathersintermsoftheattachment

relationship.

Furthersupportfortheapplicabilityoftheprinciplesofattachmentexpansion,

withdrawal,andprioritiesemergedfromtheagecomparisonswhenpredicting

depression.Consistentwiththeviewthatthesafehavenfunctionemergesinnew

relationshipslaterindevelopment,thequalityofpeerattachmentswasnotpredictiveof

depressionforyoungeradolescentsbutwasforolderadolescents.Further,thedifference

intheweightswasalsosignificant.Forolderadolescentspeerrelationshipscometohave

bothsafehavenandproximityfunctionsandare,thus,moreimportantforemotional

adjustmentthanforyoungeradolescents.

Theroleofparentalattachmentswerealsoasexpectedwithregardtoagedifferencesin

thepredictionofdepression.Bothmotherandfatherattachmentweresignificant

predictorsofdepressionandthemagnitudeoftheserelationshipsweresimilaracrossage

groups.Therewasatrendforbothtohaveagreaterimpactondepressionforyounger

adolescents.Thisisconsistentwiththepredictionsinthatthedevelopmentalwithdrawal


26/45


offunctionsfromparentalrelationshipsareexpectedtobegradual.Thesafehaven

functionwouldbeexpectedtohavebegunbeingwithdrawnintheolderadolescents

althoughthiswillnotbeasadvancedasitisfortheproximityseekingfunction.Ifwe

extrapolatethefindingswemightexpectthatforolderadolescentsmovingintoyoung

adulthood(18to20years),thewithdrawalofsafehavenwouldbemoreadvancedandthe

qualityofparentalrelationshipswouldhavesignificantlylessimpactondepression.

Sex

Differences

Theresultswithregardtosexdifferencesweresurprisingandonlypartiallysupportive

ofthehypotheses.Inparticular,whilethedifferencesintherelationshipofpeer

attachmenttotheoutcomevariableswereconsistentwiththepredictions,the differences

intheimpactofparentalattachmentsonselfesteemanddepressionwereinconsistent

withtheoreticalexpectationsandindicatethatfurtherprocessesneedtobeconsidered.

Thehypotheseswithregardtosexdifferenceswerefoundedonthenotionthatthereare

maturationaldifferencesbetweengirlandboyadolescentsandthatthesematurational

differencesmayaccountfordifferencesinthepatternofrelationshipsbetweenclose

interpersonalrelationshipsandpsychologicalhealthoutcomesthathavepreviouslybeen

observed.Contrarytotheexpectationthatparentalattachmentshouldbelessimportant

whenpredictingselfesteemforfemales,becausemoreoftheproximityseekingfunction

wouldhavebeenwithdrawnfromparentsforgirlsthanboys,the weightformother

attachmentwasnotsignificantlydifferentforthemodels.Infact,therewasatrendfor

motherattachmenttobemoreimportantforgirlsthenboys.Ontheotherhand,consistent


27/45


withexpectations,fatherattachmentwasasignificantpredictorofselfesteemforboysand

notgirlsalthoughtheweightswerenotstatisticallydifferentwhencompared.Thefactthat

attachmenttopeerswasasignificantpredictorofselfesteemandofasimilarmagnitude

forgirlsandboyswasconsistentwiththehypotheses.

Theunexpectedpatternofresultswithregardtotheparentalattachmentratingswere

evenmorepronouncedinthemodelspredictingdepression.Thepredictionforthismodel

wasthatparentalattachmentsshouldhaveasimilarandsignificantimpactondepression

forgirlsandboysbecausethesafehavenfunctiondoesnotwithdrawfromparentsuntil

laterindevelopment.Theresultsforbothmotherandfatherattachmentwerecontraryto

this.Motherattachmentwasasignificantlybetterpredictorofdepressionforgirlsandwas

notasignificantpredictorofdepressionforboysatall.Fatherattachmentwasa

significantlybetterpredictorofdepressionforboys,althoughitwasstillsignificantinthe

modelforgirls.Similartothecaseforselfesteem,however,thepredictionswithregardto

peerattachmentqualityweresupported.Peerattachmentwasamoreimportantpredictor

ofdepressionforgirlsthanboys.Further,peerattachmentdidnotcontributesignificantly

tothepredictionofdepressioninthemodelforboys.

Integration

Tosummarise,theresultssupporttheviewthattheproximityseekingfunction

developsearlierinpeerrelationshipsandwithdrawsearlierfromparentalrelationships

thanthesafehavenfunctionduringadolescence.Peerscometoinfluenceadjustmentby

theirabilitytomeettheproximityfunctionsquiteearlyinadolescence.Astheadolescent


28/45


maturesandthesafehavenfunctiondevelopsintheirexpandedattachmentnetwork,peer

relationshipscometoplayanincreasinglyimportantroleinpsychologicalhealth.

Althoughparentsbecomelessimportantforselfconceptastheadolescentmatures,they

continuetoplayanimportantrolebymeetingotherfunctionsofattachmentrelationships

fortheiradolescentchildren.

Genderdifferencesintheinfluenceofmotherandfatherrelationshipsonpsychological

healthandselfesteem,however,maybeamorecomplexprocessandentailmorefactors

thanattachmentexpansionandwithdrawal.Previousresearchinthisareahaspainteda

confusedpictureofadolescentparentrelationships.Someevidencehasindicatedthat

girlsbecomeincreasinglyalienatedfromparentswhileboysbecomeclosertotheirmother

anddistantfromtheirfather(Papinietal.,1991),whileotherresearchhasfoundthe

opposite(e.g.,Riceetal.,1997).Thisinconsistencymay,inpart,beattributedto

developmentaldifferencesinthesamplesinvestigatedandtoafailuretoconsidersimilar

kindsofoutcomeswithrespecttotheserelationships.Researchthathasexaminedtherole

ofparentalrelationshipsonidentitydevelopmentinadolescencehasgenerallyfoundthat,

forbothgirlsandboys,relationshipswithmothersplayamoreimportantrole(Benson,et

al.,1992;Matos,Barbosa,DeAmeida,&Costa,1999).However,theextenttowhich

identityfactorsthengoontoinfluencepsychologicalhealthandadjustmenthasnotbeen

examined.

Thereissurprisinglylittleresearchthathasfocussedongenderdifferencesinthe

impactofparentalrelationshipsonadolescentadjustmentandthelittlethatthereishas


29/45


oftenfocussedonsamplesofseparatedandintactfamilies(e.g.,Bishop&Ingersoll,1989).

Theevidencereportedhereindicatesthatmoreworkneedstobedonetoclarify

associationsbetweenthesexofchildandthesexofparentintermsoftheimpactofthese

dyadicrelationshipsonadjustmentwithinintactfamilies.Importantly,thefindingswith

regardtotheroleofsamesexchildparentqualityofrelationshipneedstobereplicated.

Additionally,individualdifferencesshouldbeconsideredinfutureresearch.Fraleyand

Davis(1997)arguethatindividualattachmentpropensities,suchasattachmentstyle,

mediatethedevelopmentandtransferofattachmentfunctions.Theyfoundthatyoung

adultswithsecurerelationshipexpectationsweremorelikelytoexplorepeerrelationships

andtoentersuccessfullyintonewattachmentrelationships.Itislikelythatattachment

style,asanindicatorofstable,generalrelationshipexpectations,affectsthetrajectoryof

attachmentfunctiondevelopmentandwithdrawal.Adolescentswithaninsecurestylewill

feellessabletoexplorenewrelationshipsand,thus,thedevelopmentandwithdrawalof

attachmentfunctionsinpeersmaybeimpeded.

Itis importanttoconsiderwhethertheresultsofthedifferencebetweenmeansand

regressionanalysesareconcordant.Thefactthatoveralllevelsofpeerattachmentquality

werehigherforgirlsandlowerforyoungeradolescentsisconcordantwiththeregression

findingswithregardtodepressionbutnotselfesteem.Peerattachmentwasamore

importantfactorindepressionforolderadolescentsthanyoungeradolescentsandforgirls

ratherthanboys.However,peerattachmentwasequallyimportantforselfesteem

regardlessofageorsex.Withrespecttoparentalattachment,theresultsofthetwo


30/45


analyticapproachesarealsodiscordant.Themeansanalysisshowednosignificant

differencesforeitherageorsex.However,thereweresignificantdifferencesintheimpact

ofparentalattachmentonselfesteemanddepressionforgirlsandboysandforyounger

andolderadolescents.InanoverviewofthesexdifferenceliteratureSteinberg(1987)has

commentedthatthefatherdaughterrelationshipinadolescenceisunliketheotherthree

dyadsofparentadolescentrelationship.Hearguesthatwhilethemotherdaughter

relationshipismarkedbyemotionalintensity,thefatherdaughterrelationshipisan

outliermarkedbyits blandnessandlowlevelsofinteraction (pp.196).Whiletheresults

ofthisstudydonotsupportthisconclusionwithregardtoselfreportedlevelsof

relationshipquality,theydosupportthenotionthatforgirlsthematernalrelationshipis

moreimportantforselfesteemandwellbeingthantheirrelationshipwiththeirfather.

Suchfindingshighlighttheimportanceofgoingbeyondthesimpleanalysisofrelative

differencesinratingsofrelationshipquality.Examiningdifferencesinthepredictive

powerofrelationshipqualitymeasurescanleadtoadifferentinterpretationand

appreciationofitsrelativeimportanceinthepsychologicalhealthofadolescents.

Limitations

Thisstudyusedacrosssectionalapproachandthisnaturallylimitsconclusionswith

respecttocausalinferences.Alongitudinaldesignthatenabledananalysisofintra

individualchangesinrelationshipsfromearlytolateadolescencewouldclearlybeamore

potentmethodforrevealingdevelopmentalchanges,particularlyifamoreextended

periodofadolescenceandyoungadulthoodwascovered.Althoughtheagerange(14to


31/45


18.5years)employedinthisstudywasappropriatetoitsaims,therewouldbebenefit

fromconsideringawideragerangetoallowfurtherexplicationofthedevelopmentand

withdrawalofthefullrangeofattachmentfunctions.Futureresearchshouldexamine

longitudinalchangesintheimpactoftheseimportantattachmentsrelationshipsfromthe

beginningsofpubertyataround12yearstothebeginningsoflifeasayoungadultafter

highschool(18to21years).Althoughthebeginningofadolescenceisusuallydefinedby

changesassociatedwithpuberty,theendofadolescenceissociallydefined.Thereis

increasingevidencethatformanyfamiliesinwesternsocietiesanextendedadolescence is

occurring.Comparedtopreviousgenerations,childrenincreasinglyliveathome,donot

marry,anddonothavechildrenoftheirownuntiltheyareolder(Kimmel&Weiner,

1995).Whethersuchanextendedadolescenceentailsaconcomitantextendedperiodof

parentalattachmentandunderdevelopedpeerrelationshipsremainstobedetermined.

Althoughanattachmentfunctionsanalysishasbeenappliedinthisstudyitisthecase

thatindirectratherthandirectmeasuresofthesefunctionswereemployed.Tofully

evaluatetheimpactofthedevelopingextendedattachmentnetworkinadolescence,and

anyaccompanyingchangesinattachmentfunctions,furtherresearchshouldemploydirect

measuresassessingthecontributionofthefourattachmentfunctionsineachclassof

relationship.Previousattemptstodothiswithadolescents(e.g.,Paterson,Pryor,and

Field,1995)havebeenunsatisfactorybecausethemeasuresemployedhavenotseparated

outtheattachmentfunctionsadequatelyandhaveinappropriatelyoperationalisedtheir

assessment.Itwouldalsobebeneficialtogobeyondthetwoindicesofadjustment


32/45


assessedhereandexamineawiderrangeofpossibleoutcomes,suchassocialcompetence,

schoolattitudesandadjustment,sexualactivityandrisktaking.Itislikelythatattachment

relationshipswillvaryintheirimportancefordifferentclassesofoutcomeandthese

effectswillchangeasafunctionofadolescentdevelopment.

Thisstudyhaslimitedtheexaminationoftheadolescentattachmentnetworktoparents

andpeersbuttheimportanceofotherrelationships,suchassiblings,best friendsand

romanticrelationships,shouldalsobeconsideredfromthisperspective.Thereissome

evidencethatpeerattachmentsandbestfriendattachmentshaveindependentinfluences

onadolescentadjustment(Wilkinson&Parry,2004).Theroleofromanticrelationshipsin

adolescenceremainscontroversial.Someauthorshavearguedthattheyhaveanimportant

positiveroleinpsychologicalhealth(e.g.,Collins,2003)whileothershavefoundthatthey

canhavepredominantlynegativeimpactsonadolescentwellbeing(e.g.,Davila,

Steinberg,Kachadourian,Cobb,&Fincham,2004).Itislikelythatbyassessingattachment

functionsassociatedwithparticularkindsofromanticrelationshipsinadolescencetheir

roleinadaptiveadjustmentcanbeclarified.

Conclusions

Theattachmentliteraturehastendedtobedominatedbyresearchfocussingon

attachmentstylesandprimaryattachmentrelationships.Thereareconsiderablebenefitsto

begainedbybroadeningtheaspectsofattachmentprocessesinvestigatedandexpanding

theapplicationofattachmentconceptstoawiderrangeofrelationshipsacrossthe

lifespan.Theattachmentfunctionsperspectiveprovidesausefulframeworkfor


33/45


understandingwhydifferentkindsofrelationshipswillhavedifferentrolesin

psychologicalhealthandadjustment.Whenplacedinthedevelopmentalcontextof

adolescence,thechangingrolesofparentalandpeerrelationshipsbecomerevealedand

theevolvingpatternofrelationshipscanbeseenasanetworkofsupportingattachment

relationships.Althoughadolescentsdevelopnewrelationshipsthatbegintoprovidesome

ofthebenefitsofpsychologicalattachments,particularlywithregardtothematuringself

concept,parentsclearlyremainimportantassourcesofemotionalsupportthroughtolate

adolescence.Althoughmuchoftheliteraturehasemphasisedtheprimacyofmaternal

relationships,theevidencefromthisstudyindicatesthatpaternalrelationshipsarealso

importantfortheselfesteemandpsychologicalhealthofadolescence,particularlyboys.

Thereisanincreasingdebateabouttherolesofmothersandfathersincontemporary

families.Byoverlookingthespecificcontributionsofdifferentaspectsofattachmenton

differentkindsofoutcome,weruntheriskofunderestimatingtheimportantcontributions

thattheserelationshipscanmaketoapositiveexperienceofadolescence.


34/45


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Table1

Means

and

Standard

Deviations

for

Depression,

Self

Esteem,

Maternal,

Paternal,

and

Peer

AttachmentbyAgeandSex

Younger Older

M SD n M SD n

Depression

Female 18.97 3.90 137 20.00 3.80 152

Male 17.74 3.84 172 19.11 4.25 149

SelfEsteem

Female 49.89 9.73 137 48.02 9.52 152

Male 55.43 10.42 172 53.13 9.56 149

MotherAttachment

Female 54.38 12.85 135 54.44 13.15 149

Male 53.89 10.82 166 52.81 12.22 144

FatherAttachment

Female 47.21 12.89 135 46.83 14.58 149

Male 50.63 11.33 166 46.92 12.74 144

PeerAttachment

Female 57.41 8.18 135 59.03 8.03 149

Male 48.76 8.66 166 50.37 9.26 144


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Ageand

Table2

Correlations,Means,StandardDeviations,andInternalConsistenciesforVariablesintheAnalysis

Variable 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

1.Sex

2.Age

.086*

3.Depression .142** .117** .823

4.SelfEsteem .266** .113** .541** .904

5.MotherAttachment .031 .016 .308** .325** .912

6.FatherAttachment .073 .096* .354** .271** .299**

7.PeerAttachment .445** .126** .145** .103* .257**

Mean 16.47 18.91 51.78 53.79

StandardDeviation 0.87 4.02 10.24 12.33

Note Internalconsistencies(Cronbachsalpha)onthediagonal, *p


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Table3

Multiple

Regression

on

Self

Esteem

and

Depression:

Younger

versus

Older

Adolescents

Variables Younger Older

B(SE) B(SE) z

SelfEsteem

Sex 4.112(.717) .323* 4.610(.741) .375*

MotherAttachment .178(.028) .329* .077(.028) .158* 2.21

FatherAttachment .074(.027) .143* .046(.026) .102 0.05

PeerAttachment .147(.039) .219* .127(.040) .199* 0.25

Depression

Sex 1.230(.463) .157* 1.535(.487) .191*


FatherAttachment .093(.018) .288* .062(.017) .209* 1.02

PeerAttachment .030(.024) .072 .086(.026) .207* 1.67

NoteSelfEsteem YoungermodelR2

=.30,OldermodelR2

=.18. Depression

YoungermodelR2

=.23,OldermodelR2

=.17.*p


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Table4

MultipleRegressiononSelfEsteemandDepression:FemaleversusMaleAdolescents

Variables Females Males

B(SE) B(SE) z

SelfEsteem

Age .485(.345) .074 .476(.410) .063


FatherAttachment .033(.025) .075 .095(.030) .191* 1.43

PeerAttachment .179(.043) .235* .104(.038) .155* 1.00

Depression

Age .475(.214) .116 .268(.274) .053

MotherAttachment .092(.017) .308* .026(.021) .074-2.95

FatherAttachment .047(.015) .168* .121(.020) .358*2.47

PeerAttachment .092(.026) .193* .025(.025) .055

1.70

NoteSelfEsteem FemalemodelR2

=.22,MalemodelR2

=.15.Depression Female

modelR2

=.24,MalemodelR2

=.18.*p

Documents

Wilkinson, Ross B. and Sarandrea, Anne Marie (2005) Age and Sex Differences in the Influence of Attachment Relationships on Adolescent Psychological Health