This study examined whether adopted adolescents’ attachment to their adoptive parents predicted attachment experiences in close relationships outside one’s family during emerging adulthood. Data were taken from the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project, a longitudinal study of 190 adoptive families followed for three time points (target adoptee’s childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood). Parental attachment was assessed through the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA: Armsden & Greenberg, 1987), and hierarchical linear modeling allowed for calculations of the average and discrepancy of attachment to each adolescent’s parent dyad. Using the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire (ECR: Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998), attachment style in emerging adulthood was evaluated in terms of the level of avoidance and anxiety in close relationships. While avoidance in close relationships was predicted by dyadic parental attachment, anxiety was not. Congruent with expectations, less avoidance was associated with stronger parent dyad attachments. Additionally, older age appeared to predict less avoidance in close relationships. These findings demonstrate the important contribution of adoptive parent-child relationships for later relationships.

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Self-regulation in the context of a relationship, described as relationship "work," is a powerful predictor of relationship satisfaction. Identifying individual characteristics that predict the practice of relationship self-regulation (RSR) can inform clinical and couple relationship education interventions. Anxious and avoidant attachment have been linked to shortcomings in self-regulation in various contexts, and were hypothesized to be negatively associated to individual practice of RSR; neuroticism, a personality trait characterized by negative emotionality, was also hypothesized to be negatively related to RSR. Neuroticism was also tested as a moderator of the relationship between attachment and RSR. Data from first-married men (589) and women (912) taking the RELATE online questionnaire was used in correlational and OLS multiple regression analyses to test hypotheses and a research question. Bi-variate correlations for all predictor variables and RSR were negative and statistically significant for women and men. Regression analyses echoed those associations. Moderated multiple regression analyses testing a moderator effect of neuroticism were significant for anxious attachment and RSR, but not for avoidant attachment. Results are interpreted as support for the theoretical model tested.

Romantic relationships (RR) regarding attachment styles and theory have been widely studied, whereas platonic relationships (PR) have received comparatively less attention in research. This study aims to explore two hypotheses: (1) individuals exhibit more avoidant behavior in platonic relationships rather than anxious behavior, and more anxious behavior in romantic relationships than in platonic ones; (2) attachment styles in platonic relationships manifest uniquely and can exist independently of romantic attachment. This research aims to better understand the way that attachment differs between both relationship types. Through a quantitative study involving a survey with a 5-point Likert scale measuring attachment, administered to college-aged students and others, the data analysis supported the prediction that anxiousness is higher in RR than in PR and avoidance is higher in PR than in RR. As for the second hypothesis, the data did not fully support that attachment styles exist uniquely in both relationship types. This research helps contribute to a better understanding of how attachment differs between RR and PR.

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Increasing importance has been placed on identifying precursors to childhood and adolescent problem behaviors as a step to intervene in early years and prevent maladaptive developmental outcomes. Using publicly available data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) longitudinal cohort, the current study investigates the patterns of disorganization from infancy to early childhood as precursors to childhood externalizing behaviors. With specific focus on both the stability and directionality of change in disorganization, latent growth curve modeling was conducted and showed overall main effects of continuous attachment disorganization as a precursor for heightened externalizing behaviors across middle childhood – specifically for male children. To further disentangle the impact of having an organized internal working model versus lacking one, organized models were repeated to exclude attachment security. Results remained generally the same, suggesting the grave importance of attachment disorganization beyond even unfavorable, insecurely organized internal working models. / Psychology

Adolescence is a period of vulnerability and profound change, during which the parental relationship remains integral to positive developmental outcomes. For adolescents in military families, parental deployment creates an additional stressor which may pose challenges to the relationship between parents and adolescents. This project was a preliminary qualitative study to develop a Theoretical model of how the parent-adolescent attachment relationship is affected by parental deployment over the deployment cycle. This researcher explored these adolescents' perception of their relationship with their parents through focus group interviews with military adolescents who have experienced parental deployment. An important explanatory and predictive factor in parent-child relationships and adjustment outcomes is Attachment Theory (Bowlby, 1969/1982). Attachment Theory provides a framework for understanding the process that occurs between parents and children that leads to positive or negative outcomes and the mechanisms that underlie relational ties. Theoretical thematic analysis was employed using an attachment framework to explore the relationship between the parents and adolescents over the course of deployment. / Master of Science

One of the most debated constituents of intimate partner violence pertains to attachment theory. Although, attachment theory can provide a theoretical framework for understanding the linkage between childhood family experiences and subsequent experiences with partner violence, there are controversial perspectives as to whether attachment style is stable from childhood to adulthood (Bowlby, 1973, 1980, 1982) or if attachment style can be formulated directly from adult abusive relationships (Caspi & Elder, 1988; Ricks, 1985). Therefore, the purpose of this research was to explore how attachment style presents in the Battered Woman Syndrome, determine if the battered woman's attachment style is consistent throughout childhood to adulthood or if it is manifested due to intimate partner violence exposure as well as to determine how attachment style is manifested in interpersonal functioning and perceived power and control. The theory of learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975) was used as a conceptual model for understanding why battered women remain in abusive relationships. There were 137 female sample participants who reported a history of domestic violence. Measures administered included the Battered Woman Syndrome Questionnaire (BWSQ, Walker, 1978) that assessed childhood history, interpersonal functioning and power and control and the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (Collins and Read, 1996) that assessed the participant's attachment style. Statistical techniques employed included latent class analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression. Results indicated that aversive childhood environment (as measured primarily by childhood battering variables) and involvement in adulthood abusive relationships were significantly related to childhood environment and involvement in adulthood abusive relationships. Across all five adulthood battering episodes there were significant overall effects of attachment style on sexual abuse scores. Results also confirmed the hypotheses that insecurely attached participants were more likely to report more interpersonal functioning difficulties and lower perceived power and control when compared to secure participants. Implications for future research are also presented.

Attachment theory has established itself as applicable to many types of relationships, encompassing caregiver-child, romantic, interpersonal, and psychotherapeutic interactions. This project sought to investigate the application of attachment theory to clinical supervision. Using suggestions put forth in previous work by Watkins and Riggs, this study examined the dyadic interactions inherent in both supervision and attachment. Using the working alliance as determination of the quality of supervision, attachment styles, leader-follower attachment, and attachment-based expectations were explored as predictors for supervisor-trainee dyad outcome in a training clinic for doctoral psychology students. The study design is longitudinal and prospective. Findings indicate the necessity of measurement of supervisory-specific attachment rather than general attachment, the stability of working alliance over time, and the large contribution of the leader-member attachment framework to the understanding of supervisory attachment. Implications include the importance of maintaining hierarchical, evaluative boundaries within supervisory relationship, consistent with a leader-follower dynamic.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-04T20:04:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 22 / Nenhuma / Esta dissertação apresenta uma pesquisa qualitativa que investigou a especificidade do padrão de apego de crianças na relação com seus cuidadores principais, em especial mãe e pai. O referencial teórico de base foi a teoria do apego, desde os conceitos iniciais de Bowlby até as novas perspectivas conceituais, sustentadas pelos pesquisadores que seguem estudando tal temática na atualidade. Os objetivos do estudo foram identificar qual o padrão de apego da criança em relação a suas figuras parentais, avaliar a existência de uma especificidade do padrão de apego em relação à mãe e ao pai e descrever as características familiares associadas ao apego seguro e/ou inseguro. Os resultados encontrados apontam que a qualidade de cada relação emocionalmente significativa é única e um padrão de apego predominantemente seguro pode conter aspectos inseguros e vice-versa. A estabilidade das relações familiares, uma favorável rede de apoio e social, bem como a demarcação de papéis entre pais e filhos foram as principais cara / This dissertation presents a qualitative research about the specificity of the attachment pattern between children and his main caregiver, specially father and mother. The theory reference base was the attachment theory, since Bowlby’s concepts untill the new conceptual perspectives. The goals of this research were identify the children attachment pattern characteristics related to the parents, evaluate the existence of specificity in the attachment pattern related to father and to mother and describe the families characteristics associated to secure attachment and/or insecure. The results indicate that the quality of each significant emotional relationship is unique and a predominant secure attachment pattern can have insecure aspects and vice-versa. The stability of family relationships, a favorable social network support, as well the definition of the roles of children and parents were the main characteristics related to the secure attachment pattern. The insecure attachment pattern is related to sickness