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Shifts in Attachment Relationships: A Study of Adolescents in Wilderness Treatment

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Abstract

This study examined shifts in adolescents’ attachment relationships with parents and peers during a 7-week wilderness therapy program. Ninety-six adolescents, aged 14–17, completed three quantitative measurements evaluating attachment relationships with mother, father and peers pre and post treatment. Adolescents reported improved attachment relationships in terms of decreased anger and increased emotional connection towards parents. Results also showed adolescents’ more troubled attachment relationships in terms of trust and communication with parents by the end of treatment. Adolescents reported similarly mixed results in both a positive and negative direction regarding peers. These findings indicate the complexity of parent–adolescent relationships particularly considered in the context of out-of-home care and point to the importance of continued exploration in this area.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the significant contributions of Drs. Dennis Miehls, J. Craig Peery, Joyce Everett and Pamela Foelsch to this study. The author would also like to acknowledge the mentorship provided by the Research Training Program of the Yale Child Study Center. This research was supported in part by grants from the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation of the New York Community Trust and the Clinical Research Institute of Smith College School for Social Work.

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  1. College of Social Work, University of Utah, 395 South 1500 East, Room 101, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Joanna E. Bettmann

  2. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA

    Anita R. Tucker

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  1. Joanna E. Bettmann
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  2. Anita R. Tucker
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Correspondence to Joanna E. Bettmann.

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Bettmann, J.E., Tucker, A.R. Shifts in Attachment Relationships: A Study of Adolescents in Wilderness Treatment. Child Youth Care Forum 40, 499–519 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-011-9146-6

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