The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which insecure attachment formation and the laissez-faire of authoritarian parenting style predict violent or general delinquent behaviors in preadolescent youths. The present study analyzes archival data from the first wave of a longitudinal study on delinquent behaviors. Two hundred six male and female sixth grade students were surveyed. A correlation design was used to determine predictors of violent and general delinquent behaviors among these preadolescent youths. Regression analysis was used to determine which predictor offered the best explanation of violent and delinquent behavior. It was found that for boys and girls, insecure attachment was indeed significantly correlated with violent and general delinquent behaviors. However, parenting styles was not at all correlated with those behaviors in boys. Conversely, for girls, regression analysis indicated that the Laissez-faire parenting style was a more significant predictor of violent and general delinquent behaviors. These findings are important in that they may be used to help design programs to abate the rising tide of delinquency and violence among preadolescent youths. The results of this study indicate the need for parental involvment in such programs.

Children's use of inanimate transitional objects when coping with daily hassles was examined in this study. Mothers of 50 children, aged 2- to 3-years, rated their children on frequency of hassles, intensity of reaction to daily hassles, coping effectiveness, and frequency of object use. No significant differences were found between those children with an inanimate transitional object and those without such an object (<u>p</u>>.05). Among those children with objects, a significant object effect on frequency of hassles (<u>p</u><.05) and a significant object effect on coping effectiveness (<u>p</u><.05) were found. Post hoc analyses indicated that children using soft objects (X̅=31.87) were rated as having more hassles than children using their thumb (X̅=18.88), and children using soft objects (X̅=l.34) were rated as coping less effectively than children using their thumb (X̅=.75). Among those children with inanimate transitional objects, significant positive relationships were found between: frequency of hassle, intensity of reaction to hassles, coping effectiveness, and frequency of object use. The results indicated that children who use their thumb as an inanimate transitional object had fewer hassles and cope more effectively than children who use a soft object. The results also suggest that increased object use was related to an increased number of hassles, as well as more intense reactions to hassles and less effective coping. Based on these findings, future research suggestions were made. / M.S.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of differential attachment to mothers and fathers on male and female identity development. A total of 135 male and 145 female late adolescents responded to the revised Inventory of Parent Attachment (Armsden & Greenberg, 1989) and the Extended Version of the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Bennion & Adams, 1986). Factor analysis revealed one factor for the attachment measures, and reliability estimates verified their psychometric adequacy. Participants reported higher attachment to mother than to father. The need for separate measures of attachment to each parent was confirmed by correlational analysis. Gender effects were noted for identity status but none were found for attachment. Consideration of these results led to the suggestion that males and females have different agendas for identity resolution. Regression analysis indicated an association between discrete same-sex and cross-sex attachments to parents and identity status classifications. The findings suggest that future research continue to explore the effects of differential attachment on identity development. / Ph. D.

Although the importance of Attachment in the normal development of a child has repeatedly been shown (Bowlby, 1961; 1979) there is a limited amount of research into its relationships with the usage of defense mechanisms and emotions. This research, therefore, investigated the relationships between attachment type, defense mechanisms and emotions during middle childhood (8-12 years) in 64 children from 4 children’s homes and 1 hospital in the Gauteng area. The children completed the Deferential Emotions Scale IV (DES-IV), the Attachment Story Completion Test (ASCT) and the Attachment Security Scale (ASS). The legal guardians of the children completed the Comprehensive Assessment of Defense Scale (CADS). Significant correlations were found to exist between the usage defense mechanisms and emotions. The results obtained from the analyses therefore suggest a complex interplay of relationships between attachment, defense mechanisms and emotion during middle childhood for the children in these institutions. For example, the research found that certain defense mechanisms and emotions were found to be correlated in a complex and interrelated system of interactions. Similarly, although no significant associations were found between attachment, defense mechanisms and emotions were found, the frequency distributions provided detailed information suggesting that attachment does influence the defenses used and emotion during middle childhood. These finding suggest that further research needs to be conducted in this area to further this knowledge base and to inform the caregivers and staff at institutions such as those included in the study.

Thesis (M. A.( Clinical psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / Refer to document

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2007 / The study explored transitional object attachment at Eisleben Village, Limpopo –South Africa. The participants of the study were mothers of children who were between six months and two years of age. The instrument t used to explore transitional object attachment was obtained from a related study, while the instrument used to study the participants personality were the Adult Attachment Questionnaire and the Relationship Questionnaire. There was low prevalence of transitional object attachment at Eisleben Village. Several factors had an impact on whether or not the child becomes attached to an object, i.e. the socio economic status of the participants as well as the child rearing practices.

The high level of weight and shape concerns amongst preadolescent children has prompted interest in the development of prevention programs for this age group. In the 1990s weight and shape concerns were considered primarily an adolescent phenomenon. However, prevention programs which have been designed with adolescent and adult populations have been found to show limited success. Some researchers have argued that programs which target preadolescent children are more likely to be effective than programs that target adolescents, as by adolescence many attitudes and behaviours have become entrenched so they may be more difficult to modify. On the other hand, children's weight and shape concerns are believed to be more malleable and amenable to change. To date there have been limited controlled studies implementing prevention programs designed to reduce weight and shape concerns with preadolescent populations. The new study conducted as part of this thesis involves the development and implementation of the ‘Everybody’ s Different, Nobody Else Is Me’ preadolescent prevention program. The program was designed to address some of the methodological biases of past research and incorporate three risk factors, social comparisons, negative affect, and self-esteem, to reduce and/or prevent the development of weight and muscle concerns among children. These three risk factors have been found to be associated with weight and shape concerns of adolescents and adults, and there is also increasing evidence that they are important factors among children. Research also suggests that social comparisons, negative affect, and self-esteem are interrelated, which highlights the importance of targeting the variables in one program. The new five session prevention initiative was implemented with 156 grade four children. Both the treatment and control conditions consisted of 78 children. Preliminary evidence from the new prevention initiative indicated that the program reduced muscle bulk and exercise (ie. An over-emphasis on exercise to lose weight rather than health promotion), and negative affect in the long term as assessed by the six month follow-up. At the six month follow-up, children in both the treatment and control conditions reported reduced negative affect, dieting, and muscle bulk and exercise scores and increased positive affect. Consistent with short term follow-up results, boys reported greater muscle bulk and exercise scores than girls at the six month follow-up. Girls, in both conditions, were also found to report greater positive affect than boys. These findings are discussed in relation to past research, and suggestions for future prevention initiatives are highlighted.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

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This study explored and described the relationship between early attachment to the father figure and self-esteem and current adult attachment style. Specifically, the present study explored and described the impact of the internal working model of early paternal attachment upon adult attachment styles and levels of self-esteem. The data for this study was obtained by utilizing the following four questionnaires: The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) Part 2 as a retrospective measure, the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ) and Battle’s Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory (CFSEI). An exploratory descriptive design using a non-probability, convenience sampling method was employed for the present study. A sample of 105 adult participants from a religious institution within Port Elizabeth was selected. Participants, including both males and females, representative of all cultures and socio-economic status, were interviewed using the above self-report measures. The data for this study was analyzed using descriptive and correlational and inferential statistics. The findings indicated that the majority of the sample had a preoccupied attachment style, with Intermediate self-esteem levels.