M.A. / Most people learn communication and behavioral skills in their families, which means the learning that takes place in the family of origin will affect how children learn to deal with conflict in adult life. People form the basis of their coping skills in early childhood, either through modeling or cognitive awareness, or in the case of inappropriate behaviour, through distortions. This means that communication skills and conflict styles that are acquired early in childhood might be perpetuated when these children become adults and marry. Several studies have been conducted on conflict styles and the family of origin. However, very little is available on the application of conflict styles learnt in the family of origin and the impact they may have in the marriage of progeny children. This pilot study attempts to address this aspect. This investigation examines whether the conflict styles experienced or perceived in the family of origin have any bearing on how progeny children deal with conflict in their own marriages. A quantitative pilot study of fourteen couples was undertaken in which each couple completed two questionnaires. The first one related to how the couples themselves deal with conflict, the second focussed on how they perceive that their parents dealt with conflict. The theoretical model used to describe the structure of the family and its interconnectedness is systems theory. Social cognitive learning theory is examined in terms of how behaviour is learnt and attachment theory examines different types of attachment and the hypothesised resultant behaviours. The results of the study indicated that there was a significant difference between the couples’ and their parents’ conflict styles, on some of the variables measured. The differences recorded were in terms of how couples deal with conflict in their marriage, as opposed to how they perceived their parents to deal with conflict in their own marriages. It can be hypothesised that the conflict styles couples perceived their parents to use did impact on the styles they used in their own marriage. In some cases however, they felt that they improved on the style perceived, instead of simply perpetuating the cycle they had experienced.

M.A. / This exploratory study drew primarily upon narrative interviews and projective tests and secondarily on collateral information taken from case files from a small sample of adolescents who were institutionalised as a result of neglect and abuse. The aim of this study was to explore and develop a better understanding of the nature of attachment patterns of institutionalised adolescents by looking at how attachment abuse, maternal deprivation and institutionalisation can be detrimental to forming close relationships. The data from the clinical interviews, the Sentence Completion Test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) were subjected to a thematic content analytical process. The Kinetic Family Drawing Test (KFD) was analysed using Kaplan and Main’s classification system for children’s family drawings. The Draw-a-Person Test (DAP) was analysed qualitatively, using various literature on interpreting human figure drawings but largely drawing on Machover’s interpretive system. No quantitative analyses were used in this study. The results yielded a wide range of themes related to the attachment patterns of children in children’s homes. The results of the study clearly highlighted the attachment needs of adolescents. The overall themes present in the tests are of rejection, abandonment, isolation and deprivation. The results indicated that older children who have been separated from their caregivers and placed in a children’s home because they were abused, neglected or maternally deprived, tend to be insecurely attached. The literature highlights the importance of adequate caregiving that is necessary for the child to develop a healthy sense of self and the implications if this is absent.

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This study was a partial test of the theoretical model of the ability to parent proposed by Ricks (1985). The purpose of the study was to examine the variables of marital quality, model of self, the recalled quality of attachment to ones' parents and sex of subject as related to current parenting attitudes. The Mother-Father-Peer Scale (MFP) was used to measure recalled attachment to parent (Epstein, 1983). Parenting attitudes were measured on two scales designed by Itkin (1952), an Acceptance-Rejection scale and a Strict-Permissive scale. One question from Spanier's (1976) Dyadic Adjustment Scale was used to assess marital harmony. Model of self was measured using the Self-Rating scale from the Family Assessment Measure (Skinner, Steinhauer, & Santa-Barbara, 1984). There were 126 subjects in the study, 60 males and 66 females. Pearson ṟ correlations were calculated between all the variables. A parenting attitude favoring acceptant, positive treatment of children was related to a more permissive attitude toward control of children. Memories of maternal independence-encouraging behavior were related to a parenting attitude favoring strict control of children. Multiple regression analysis suggested that self-rating of family functioning and sex were the best predictors of a parental attitude of acceptance versus rejection. However, these variables explained only 26% of the variance in acceptance-rejection scores. The results of the analyses offered only limited support for the model under study. Based on a median split of the theoretical ranges on the parenting scales, subjects were classified using Maccoby and Martin's (1983) model of parenting styles. All the parents in this study were classified as having parenting attitudes falling into the authoritarian-reciprocal quadrant of this model. Such parents would be considered as being accepting yet controlling in their behavior toward their children. This finding was interpreted as indicating that all the subjects in this study had the ability to parent. This lack of dispersion on the parenting classification could have contributed to the lack of statistical significance to completely support the portion of the model being tested. / Ph. D.

Traditional and cyber bullying have been identified as universal problematic issues facing adolescents, and research is needed to understand correlates associated with these phenomena. Structural equation modeling analyses examined associations between attachment to parents, traditional and cyber bullying or victimization, and mental health outcomes among 257 high school students (Average age 15.9 years). Key patterns emerged, including associations between maternal attachment and mental health outcomes; victimization and mental health concerns; and bullying and victimization in both traditional and cyber contexts. The role of attachment to mothers and fathers varied by context. Findings extend the literature by identifying risk factors in adolescence associated with bullying and victimization, as well as suggesting appropriate prevention and intervention strategies to increase adolescent well-being.

Measures of adult attachment developed in English have been translated and validated in multiple Spanish-speaking countries, yet to this date no self-report adult attachment instrument has been systematically examined for validation with Latinos/Hispanic Americans. The present study examined psychometric properties of a Spanish version of a widely used adult attachment scale, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECRS), with a bilingual college student sample. Following the dual-language split half (DLSH) quantitative method of evaluating semantic equivalence, 209 bilingual, Latinos/Hispanic American college students recruited from a large public university completed a DLSH version of the ECRS (half English, half Spanish). Internal consistency reliability and DLSH reliability were within acceptable limits, although significantly smaller than coefficients of the English ECRS completed by a large Caucasian sample (n = 459); 3- to 8-week test-retest reliability was also adequate. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution with 35 items accounting for 40% of the variance, which was similar to the English ECRS. Convergent validity was supported by findings that showed significant associations of attachment dimensions with social self-efficacy, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and comfort with self-disclosure, but not interpersonal trust. Evidence for discriminant validity was found in that attachment dimensions were not significantly associated with social desirability. Theoretical implications, limitations, and future directions of the study will be discussed based on adult attachment theory and cross-cultural perspectives.

陳曉昭. / 據手稿本影印. / Thesis (M.A.)--香港中文大學. / Ju shou gao ben ying yin. / Includes bibliographical references: leaves 116-133. / Chen Xiaozhao. / Thesis (M.A.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue. / Chapter 第一章 --- 緒　論 --- p.1 / Chapter 第二章 --- 文獻參考 --- p.10 / Chapter 第一節 --- 依附感的研究方向 --- p.10 / Chapter 第二節 --- 相關理論的探討 --- p.23 / Chapter 第三章 --- 研究方法 --- p.43 / Chapter 第一節 --- 樣本及資料收集過程 --- p.43 / Chapter 第二節 --- 概念的定義與量度方法 --- p.47 / Chapter 第四章 --- 研究結果與分析（一）：依附感與人際關係 --- p.58 / Chapter 第一節 --- 影響社會依附感之因素 --- p.58 / Chapter 第二節 --- 影響心理依附感之因素 --- p.74 / Chapter 第三節 --- 社會依附感和心理依附感的關係 --- p.87 / Chapter 第五章 --- 研究結果與分析（二）：依附感與問題行為 --- p.89 / Chapter 第一節 --- 依附感導致之後果變項 --- p.89 / Chapter 第二節 --- 人際關係、依附感與問題行為之關係 --- p.95 / Chapter 第六章 --- 結論 --- p.107 / 中文參考書目 --- p.116 / 英文參考書目 --- p.120

Mak, Chi Kuan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-124). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.