The Longitudinal Relationship between Parent-Child Attachment and Adolescents’ Gratitude: The Mediating Role of Perceived Parental Communal Strength

Previous research has found a significant association between parent-child attachment and gratitude, while the directionality of this association and its potential mechanisms remain unclear. This study examined the longitudinal associations between parent-child attachment, gratitude, and perceived parental communal strength, which is adolescents’ perception of their parents’ willingness to make sacrifices to provide care and meet their needs. A total of 1348 adolescents and one of their parents (M_age = 12.96, SD = 0.70 years; 51.3% girls) participated in this three-wave study, with a six-month lag. The results of the cross-lagged panel models showed that attachment anxiety and avoidance negatively predicted adolescents’ gratitude after six months. Perceived parental communal strength mediated the longitudinal effects of attachment anxiety and avoidance on gratitude. However, the impact of gratitude on perceived parental communal strength and parent-child attachment was non-significant. The findings suggest that adolescents with insecure parent-child attachment have negative perceptions of their parents, which could contribute to their lack of gratitude. Adolescents’ negative perceptions of their parents are crucial for understanding the mechanisms underlying the lack of gratitude observed in adolescents with insecure parent-child attachment.