Abstract
The degree of continuity over time in the quality of parent-child attachments and the relationship between these attachments and current self-esteem was investigated. Subjects were 218 nonparent college students. The attachment working model styles were determined by modified versions of two attachment measures. Epstein's Mother-Father-Peer Scale of 1983 yielded separate scores for independence-encouraging and acceptance, and Hazan and Shaver's 1987 Rocky Mountain Survey indicated secure, avoidant, or ambivalent attachment patterns. Self-esteem was measured by Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory of 1967. Data collected indicated support for Bowlby's 1988 theory of continuity over time of attachment. Self-esteem was related to both childhood and adolescent working model styles of attachment and to the dimensions of independence-encouraging and acceptance. The two attachment measures were related. Subjects who classified their parent-child attachment as secure rated their parents as high in independence-encouraging and acceptance.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ainsworth, M. D. (1983). Patterns of infant-mother attachment as related to maternal care. In Magnusson, D., and Allen, V. (eds.),Human Development: An Interactional Perspective. Academic Press, New York.
Ainsworth, M. D., Bell, S., and Stayton, D. (1971). Individual differences in strange-situation behavior of one-year-olds. In Schaffer, H. R. (ed.),The Origins of Human Social Relations. Academic Press, London.
Ainsworth, M. D., Blehar, M.I Waters, E., and Wall, S. (1978).Patterns of Attachment: A Psychological Study of the Strange Situation. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Arend, R., Gove, F., and Sroufe, L. A. (1979). Continuity of individual adaptation from infancy to kindergarten: A prospective study of ego-resiliency and curiosity in preschoolers.Child Develop. 50: 950–959.
Armsden, G., and Greenberg M. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence.J. Youth Adolesc. 16: 427–454.
Belsky, J., and Rovine, M. (1988). Nonmaternal care in the first year of life and the security of infant-parent attachment.Child Develop. 59: 157–167.
Bowlby, J. (1969).Attachment (Vol. 1). Basic Books, New York.
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect.Am. J. Orthopsychiat. 52: 664–676.
Bowlby, J. (1988).A Secure Base. Basic Books, New York.
Cassidy, J. (1988). Child-mother attachment and the self in six-year olds.Child Develop. 59: 121–134.
Coopersmith, S. (1967).The Antecedents of Self-Esteem. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA.
Easterbrooks, M., and Lamb, M. (1979). The relationship between quality of infant-mother attachment and infant competence in initial encounters with peers.Child Develop. 50: 380–387.
Epstein, S. (1983).The Mother-Father-Peer Scale. Unpublished manuscript, University of Massachusetts.
George, C., Kaplan, N., and Main, M. (in press). Adult attachment interview. In Main, M. (ed.),Behavior and the Development of Representational Models of Attachment: Five Methods of Assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Goldberg, S., Lojkasek, M., Gartner, G., and Corter, C. (1989). Maternal responsiveness and social development in preterm infants. In Bornstein, M. H. (ed.),New Directions for Child Development. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Hazan, C., and Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process.J. Person. Social Psychol. 52: 511–524.
Kobak, R., and Seery, A. (1988). Attachment in late adolescence: Working models, affect regulation, and representations of self and others.Child Develop. 59: 135–146.
Lieberman, A. (1977). Preschoolers' competence with a peer: Relations with attachment and peer experience.Child Develop. 48: 1277–1287.
Main, M., Kaplan, N., and Cassidy, J. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation. In Bretherton, I., and Waters, E. (eds.),Growing Points of Attachment Theory and Research. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Matas, L., Arend, R. A., and Sroufe, L. A. (1978). Continuity of adaptation in the second year: The relations between quality of attachment and later competence.Child Develop. 49: 547–556.
Parke, R. D., and Sawin, D. (1976). A father's role in infancy: A re-evaluation.Family Coordin. 21: 365–371.
Pastor, D. L. (1981). The quality of mother-infant attachment and its relationship to toddlers' initial sociability with peers.Develop. Psychol. 17: 326–335.
Sroufe, L. A., and Waters, E. (1977). Attachment as an organizational construct.Child Develop. 48: 1184–1199.
Waters, E., Wippman, J., and Sroufe, A. (1979). Attachment, positive affect, and competence in the peer group: Two studies in construct validation.Child Develop. 50: 821–829.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This paper is based, in part, on the first author's thesis for the M.A. degree at Georgia Southern University. Portions of this paper were presented at the Biennial Conference on Human Development, Atlanta, Georgia, April 1992.
Received M.A. in psychology from Georgia Southern University in 1991. Major research interests include attachment theory and nontraditional students.
Received Ph.D. in psychology from Georgia State University in 1980. Primary research interests are social competence development, peer relations, and mother-child attachment.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McCormick, C.B., Kennedy, J.H. Parent-child attachment working models and self-esteem in adolescence. J Youth Adolescence 23, 1–18 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537139
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537139