Emerging adulthood has been described as a distinctive stage of life between adolescence and young adulthood, in which the hallmark of development is signified by the achievement of intimacy in romantic relationships. From a family systems perspective, the degree to which parents have resolved their own emotional attachment contributes to the capacity of emerging adults to develop intimacy in romantic relationships without inhibition from fear of closeness. This study empirically examines the relationship between parental emotional attachment and the fear of intimacy of emerging adults by exploring the mediating role of differentiation of self. One of the most important and original contributions of this study is the development and validation of the Parental Emotional Attachment Scale (PEAS) which measures the intensity of parental emotional attachment. This study applies a mixed-methods sequential exploratory design with four samples of emerging adults in Hong Kong. First, interviews (N=24; Mage=23.6; 54% female) are conducted to explore the variations in subjective experiences with family of origin and fear of romantic intimacy. Building on the qualitative data from the interviews, the PEAS is developed through two pilot studies with two separate samples (combined N=551; Mage=20.6; 61% female). The PEAS is validated and then applied in the main study (N=755; Mage=21.8; 55.4% female). An exploratory factor analysis yields four factors with 34 items, including Parental Emotional Fusion, Parental Emotional Separateness, Parental Emotional Over-functioning and Parental Emotional Projection, which explain for 46.81% of the total variance. The four-factor structure is confirmed by using a confirmatory factor analysis. The results indicate substantial correlations between the PEAS and the Chinese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, which supports the convergent validity of the PEAS. The results also show that the PEAS has sufficient reliability (Cronbach's alpha= .89) and validity to support its application in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Concurrently, it is found that parental emotional attachment is negatively correlated with the level of differentiation of self, and positively correlated with the fear of intimacy. In addition, differentiation of self significantly mediates the relation between parental emotional attachment and fear of intimacy. Finally, a hierarchical regression analysis reveals that parental emotional over-functioning, emotional cutoff and emotional fusion with family are predictive of the fear of intimacy. The overall findings highlight differentiation of self as an underlying mechanism through which parental emotional attachment affects the level of fear of intimacy of emerging adults. Besides, emerging adults who experience greater parental emotional over-functioning, emotional cutoff and emotional fusion with family show higher levels of fear of intimacy. These findings jointly imply the importance for emerging adults to differentiate from their family of origin by balancing closeness and separateness, bridging emotional distance, reducing emotional cutoff and recognizing their own adaptive patterns in relationships, which serve as a practical framework for the future development of relationship education and counseling of emerging adults in Hong Kong.

In this study I proposed and tested a causal model between disruptions in childhood attachment, dimensions of adult attachment, and caregiving in later life. The research was intended to fill a void in both the attachment and the gerontological caregiving literatures. Like the construct of attachment, John Bowlby conceptualized caregiving as an expression of a specific underlying behavioral control system. He and subsequent attachment theorists proposed caregiving quality to be the most critical determinant of both attachment and subsequent personality and emotional development. Gerontologists have studied caregiving from an exchange, equity, and symbolic interactionist perspectives but in general, theory has been underutilized and underdeveloped. This study provides an alternative theoretical perspective. With it’s multidisciplinary origins, attachment theory provides a framework for integrating research on seemingly disparate topics. An interdisciplinary linkage is begun by placing caregiving within the perspective of the lifespan development of prosocial behavior. The sample (N=3,848) consisted of respondents aged 50 to 95 years, from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), a national multistage probability sample. A series of regressions were used to test the explanatory model. Model variables included respondents’ psychosocial characteristics: sex, age, number of childhood separations from mother, current symbolic and physical proximity to mother, adult relationship with mother, emotional support, marital relationship, physical and mental disability, and income. In order to assess propensity for caregiving, the criterion variable was operationalized as number of care recipients per respondent. The variables that accounted for a statistically significant amount of variation in caregiving were maternal proximity, and respondent's age, in that order. Contrary to the predictions, sex, emotional support, marital status, income, and disability level, were not related to caregiving. These findings suggest people may be motivated to provide care not simply by structural factors but by developmental needs with some underlying and unknown physiological component. These results warrant further study of how the dimensions of proximity to multiple attachment figures, and developmental age affect caregiving and attachment behaviors. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine how parental separation is related to eating disturbances and assertiveness in females who struggle with bulimic symptoms. Two-hundred ninety-two undergraduate females from the University of North Texas comprised the subject group. Using pen and paper measures of assertiveness, bulimia, and parental separation, support was found for the prediction that there would be a relationship between assertiveness and parental separation. Likewise, partial support was found for the prediction that there would be a relationship between bulimia and parental separation. Parental separation was found to affect levels of bulimia and assertiveness. Finally, it was found that subjects endorsed greater emotional independence from fathers than from mothers.

Zugl.: Erfurt, Univ., Diss.

The problem addressed is to ascertain how selected factors impacted the adjustment of undergraduate university students. Undergraduate university students (n=382) from the University of North Texas completed measures of basic student information, perceived level of family support and level of parental attachment, and perceived level of college student adjustment. Parental Attachment and Family Support were found to positively correlate to the level of adjustment to college. Analyses of these data reveal a statistically significant difference in student adjustment to college when comparing the participants by age, university classification, and living arrangement. Further analysis reveals that there is a statistically significant difference between gender, race, students' marital status, and parents' marital status when measuring the outcome of perceived family support. Perceived level of parental attachment differs significantly when comparing students by their race, marital status, and their parents' marital status.

Text in German, summaries in German and English / Diese Arbeit untersucht die Relevanz der Herkunftsfamilie und ihre Auswirkung auf eine spätere Paarbeziehung im Blick auf Beziehungszufriedenheit. Dazu ist ihr Einfluss auf deren Mitglieder aufzuzeigen, die theoretischen Faktoren zur ehelichen Zufriedenheit darzustellen und empirisch zu verifizieren oder zu falsifizieren. Dadurch ist veranschaulicht, wie Zufriedenheit einer ehelichen Beziehung durch unterschiedliche familiäre Vorprägungen beeinflusst oder sogar „vorherbestimmt“ ist. Daraus ist weiter ersichtlich, inwieweit Zufriedenheit einer ehelichen Beziehung sich tradiert, oder ob für eine gelungene Beziehung nicht doch zu „arbeiten“ ist. Diese Inspektion zentraler Partnerschaftsmerkmale soll zu Fortschritten in der sozialpsychologischen und seelsorgerlichen Theoriebildung führen. Für eine Arbeit im Bereich christlicher Seelsorge ist auch zu fragen, inwieweit der Zuspruch des Evangeliums in konkreter seelsorgerlicher Beratung hilft, dass Paare trotz negativer familiärer Vorprägung zu ehelicher Zufriedenheit finden. Die eigene Ehe zu pflegen erfordert persönliche Sorgfalt sowohl für den Mann als auch für die Frau und individuelle seelsorgerliche Aufmerksamkeit durch die christliche Gemeinde. / This dissertation examines relevance and impact of family history on marital relationship in regard to partner satisfaction. Firstly, the family’s influence on its members is investigated; secondly, the theoretical factors of marital satisfaction are explained; thirdly, these dimensions are empirically verified or falsified. The study demonstrates the impact or pre-definition of family history on marital satisfaction. Furthermore, it answers if marital satisfaction can be passed on or if it has to be consciously developed. The thorough examination of central marital partnership dimensions is leading to an improvement of theory construction in sociopsychological and pastoral counselling terms. As this paper is concerned with Christian counselling, it considers, how Christian doctrine can be relevant in counselling couples displaying a negative marital pre-disposition, by helping them to achieve marital satisfaction. To care for a marital relationship, the carefulness of both partners, as well as the pastoral attentiveness of the Christian church, is required. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Young adults of the twenty-first century face a long path to adulthood marked by uncertainty and lack of stability. In response, young adults are heading back to or failing to leave their family homes in higher numbers than generations before (Jacobsen and Mather 2011; Qian 2012). These macro-level trends bring about questions about their impact on family relationships as well as how these relationships have evolved over time. My thesis investigates parent-child relationships during co-residence with a specific focus on generation and gender differences. Through secondary data analysis of the National Survey of Families and Households, I explore how parent-child relationships during co-residence differ between parents of Generation Xer young adults (born between 1965-1980) and Millennial young adults (born between 1981-1996). Additionally, I examine gender differences between these two generational cohorts. My findings offer support that intergenerational relationships are not necessary closer, but look different for parents of Millennials as compared to Generation Xers. I also find that there are significant gender differences between mothers and fathers of Generation Xers versus those of Millennials. I find that mothers of Generation Xers report more time shared with co-residing young adults and increased frequency of perceived emotional support from their child than fathers; yet, fathers of Millennials report more perceived support than mothers. I suggest these findings offer support for the notion that gendered roles play out into young adulthood and potentially have more flexibility for fathers across time. As the economic and social landscape continues to change and present more uncertainty, family relationships become a form of social security; thus it becomes increasingly important to understand these dynamics. My findings are significant as they contribute to a better understanding of parent-child relationships over time and offer discussion on the potential implications.

Factors influencing the career development of Asian Americans have included family influences, including parental expectations and parent-young adult relationship, and adherence to Asian cultural values. Variables such as interests and values have been shown to be important factors in the career-related decisions of western, European American culture individuals, although interests have been found to be less important for Asian Americans. Research suggests that parental expectations and adherence to traditional Asian values have more influence on career development among this population. Sandhu found in 2011 that parental expectations are highly linked with career choice of a specific Asian subgroup. The current study examined the relationship between parental expectations, acculturation, career values, adherence to Asian cultural values, the parent-young adult relationship, and career choice in the Asian American population. The values gap between the parents’ and young adults’ cultural values as well as the gap’s effects on the parent-child relationship were assessed. A sample of 173 self-identified Asian Americans aged 18 to 25 were recruited from across the US to complete an Internet survey consisting of demographic questions, career choice questions, a measure of acculturation, an assessment of career-related values, an assessment of adherence to Asian cultural values, and an assessment of the parent-young adult relationship. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that the prestige of parents’ career expectations was a significant predictor of the prestige of young adults’ expected career choices. Although other family and process variables were not found to be significant predictors of young adults’ career choices, interesting correlations were noted among many of these variables.

There are numerous ways to measure or estimate parental attachment, from which can be deduced a positive, neutral, or negative relationship between adult child and parent. A standardized measure of parental attachment was administered to participants in this study, in order to determine a rating scale that can be worked with statistically to determine possible connections between the attachment measure and GP A. To that end, this study used the Revised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, (IPPA-R). The relationship between parent and child has profound effects on an individual throughout their life. Even in adulthood, the attachment of adult children to their parents affects their attitudes and achievement. It is a relationship common to all. Even if the person is orphaned or abandoned, if this relationship between parental attachment and adult achievement can be demonstrated statistically, it may lead the way in learning to focus the positive power of parental attachment into measurable achievement for the adult child. It is hoped that this research may lead to further study about parental attachment and the impact it may have on academic achievement, and perhaps extrapolated to increasing achievement in other areas. The goal of this study was to measure the influence of parental attachment upon the academic achievement of adult children, measured by the Revised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA-R) developed by Amsden and Greenberg (2009). The IPPAR is a revision to the original Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, first developed by Amsden and Greenberg in 1987. The original version had questions that were directed toward both parents together, such as "My parents respect my feelings ... " (Amsden & Greenberg, 1987). In the IPPA-R, the same question was broken down into questions for both father and mother. The same question in the IPPA-R would be, "My mother respects my feelings ... " and "My father respects my feelings ... " (Amsden & Greenberg, 1987). Participants for this study were recruited from a junior level Psychology class at the University of Central Florida. Extra credit was awarded for participation. A total of 106 students participated in this study. Of the total 106 surveys submitted, 3 surveys were incomplete, thereby reducing the number of participants to 103. Informed consent was provided by participants at the beginning of the survey. Along with the mother and father sections of the IPPA-R, the questionnaire included demographic inquiries, such as race, age and gender. Along with these questions, the request for grade point average (GPA) was included. Academic achievement was measured by GPA at the university level. GPA was recorded on a 1-4 scale, using 2 decimal points. The independent variable in this study was parental attachment with seven levels. GPA served as the dependent measure. Data were analyzed using a one way between subject Analysis of Variance, (ANOV A). GPA did not significantly differ as a function of parental attachment, F(6,97)= 1.758, p=0.116. Previous research using the IPPA-R as a psychometric tool has shown significant effects when parental attachment is compared to psychological well-being (Gullone & Robinson, 2005), as well as other, more diverse variables, such as tendencies toward drug abuse among female teenagers (Renes & Strange, 2009) and commitment to career choices (Ward, 2003). This study made use of the IPPA-R measure, as the above mentioned research did, but the dependent variable of GPA was different than other research using the IPPAR. Most research with the IPPA-R seeks to measure psychological well being, or some aspect of it. The present research differed from previous studies in that this project used academic achievement as the dependent variable. Academic achievement at the university level can be extremely important to life and career directions adult children may choose. Despite the lack of statistical evidence, several interesting issues were raised. These issues, as well as possible directions for future research, are discussed.

Female-headed families have become a major component of society, globally and locally. South Africa has also witnessed an increase in the number of female-headed families. Children raised in female-headed families have been reported to be disadvantaged in several ways. Many are said to be performing poorly at school, having low self-esteem, experiencing early sexual activity, and displaying adverse behaviour. Hence, the views of adult children who grew up in female-headed families were explored to inform social work practice. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive, and contextual study was undertaken with 12 participants whose ages ranged from 25 to 35 years. The goal of this study was to gain insight into the experiences of adult children who grew up in female-headed families. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed following Tesch’s (in Creswell, 2009) framework. Data was verified using Lincoln and Guba’s model of trustworthiness. The major findings highlighted first, a deep-seated need to understand reasons for being abandoned by their fathers. Second, the resources inherent within female-headed families, often overlooked, revealed the strengths that these families possess. Third, spirituality as the foundation of their resilience during difficult times dominated the participants’ accounts of being raised in female-headed families. Fourth, various support structures emerged as fundamental components, requisite for the optimal functioning of female-headed families. The implications for social work and recommendations for future research are presented. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)