Developed and validated Parents of Adolescents Separation Anxiety Scale with parents of sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders, and college freshmen and seniors. Factor analyses supported two subscales: Anxiety about Adolescent Distancing (AAD) and Comfort with Secure Base Role (CSBR); both showed distinctive change patterns with child age.…

Study investigates reasons adolescents value their grandparents. Results show adolescents generally find their grandparents important and feel close to them because they provide affection, reassurance of worth, and reliable alliance. Early adolescents assigned more importance and meaning to their grandparents than middle and late adolescents.…

Examined contributions of attachment, maternal-reported stress, and mother-child interaction to the prediction of teacher-reported behavior problems in 121 French-Canadian children. Security of attachment significantly predicted likelihood of behavior problems: insecure children labeled controlling or other were most at risk for…

Investigated the links between attachment and parent peer-management practices, and how each is related to children's home-based peer networks, in a sample of preschoolers and their parents. Found that most securely attached girls, but not boys, were more involved in initiating their peer contacts; home-based peer networks were related to parent…

Reports on a sample of participants who completed a stress narrative, a measure of coping styles, and a measure of emotional distress. Findings suggest that compared with secure attachment, preoccupied attachment was associated with higher levels of intrusive psychological symptoms and higher levels of overall psychological distress, although…

Examined affectively-charged moral narratives and attachment-related narratives of preschoolers. Found that, after controlling for child age, gender, SES, and expressive language ability, children with more externalizing problems were more likely to describe aggressive themes, and less likely to mention adult aid or taking responsibility for…

Study examined factors associated with symptoms of depression in female adolescents. Specifically, the relationship between theoretically related measures-separation-individuation; interpersonal concerns; attachment style; parental representations-and symptoms of depression was investigated. The model developed explained interrelationships of…

This study examined the relation between insecure attachment and depression in a sample of 140 children (69 boys and 71 girls; ages 6 to 14) whose parents have a history of major depressive episodes. In addition, we examined whether this relation was moderated by excessive reassurance seeking. Children completed measures assessing insecure…

While scores of researchers have examined the antecedents of fear of criminal victimization among adults, research examining the correlates of such fear among adolescents, particularly in the school setting, is limited. Using data from 2,136 public school students from a rural Southern state, we examine the association between fear of criminal…

Attending a university involves change and transition and an opportunity to study older adolescents' attachment. The current study explored potential gender differences in both older adolescents' need- and nonneed-based interactions with parents and their perceptions of attachment quality. Results indicated that although females did not initiate…

Secure parental attachment and healthy levels of separation-individuation have been consistently linked to greater college student adjustment. The present study proposes that the relation between parental attachment and college adjustment is mediated by healthy separation-individuation. The authors gathered data on maternal and paternal…

This study examined the mediating role of affect regulation among attachment, negative mood, and interpersonal problems. Participants were 229 college students at a large midwest university. Structural equation modeling indicated attachment anxiety and avoidance contributed to negative mood and interpersonal problems through different and distinct…

Attachment theorists assume that maternal mental representations influence responsivity, which influences infant attachment security. However, primary studies do not support this mediation model. The authors tested mediation using 2 mother-infant samples and found no evidence of mediation. Therefore, the authors explored sensitivity as a…

This study investigated the phenomenon of transitional object (TO) use by young children who have been parented within the framework of Attachment Parenting (AP). A sample of 275 mothers were recruited through an international magazine marketed towards AP mothers. Mothers who indicated they had children who were parented with such AP methods as…

This study describes the pattern of emotional and behavioural difficulties of children whose mothers have mental illness, and explores the relationship between children's behavioural and emotional difficulties and maternal perceptions of attachment. Thirteen mothers previously admitted to psychiatric hospital for mental illness completed a measure…