Contributions of Parental Attachment and Family Structure to the Social and Psychological Functioning of First-Year College Students

The degree to which parental attachment and family structure are related to indexes of social and psychological functioning was examined for a sample of 1st-year college students (173 women and 53 men). Canonical analysis for the female students yielded significant results that were generally consis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of counseling psychology 1991-10, Vol.38 (4), p.479-486
Main Authors: Kenny, Maureen E, Donaldson, Gail A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attachment Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
College Freshmen
College Students
Emotional Adjustment
Families & family life
Family Structure
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Higher Education
Human
Interpersonal Competence
Parent Child Relations
Parent Child Relationship
Personal development
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
School Adjustment
Sex Differences
Social Adjustment
Social psychology
Social research
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Summary:The degree to which parental attachment and family structure are related to indexes of social and psychological functioning was examined for a sample of 1st-year college students (173 women and 53 men). Canonical analysis for the female students yielded significant results that were generally consistent with theoretical expectations. Hypothesized characteristics of insecure attachment and 2 dimensions of maladaptive family structure-parental marital conflict and perceived family anxiety concerning separation-were associated with difficulties in social competence and the presence of psychological symptoms. For male students the results of the canonical analysis were not significant. The findings suggest that for college women close parental attachments are adaptive when combined with a family structure that supports individuation.
ISSN:0022-0167
1939-2168
DOI:10.1037/0022-0167.38.4.479