The Relation Between Dimensions of Attachment and Internalizing or Externalizing Problems During Adolescence
- 1 March 2006
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in The Journal of Genetic Psychology
- Vol. 167 (1) , 47-63
Abstract
The authors examined the relation between dimensions of attachment and internalizing and externalizing problems in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents (n = 62) who completed the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; J. Feeney, P. Noller, & M. Hanrahan, 1994) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR; T. M. Achenbach, 1991). In total, the ASQ dimensions accounted for 48% of the variance in scores on the broad YSR internalizing problem scale. Three ASQ dimensions (confidence, discomfort with closeness, preoccupation with relationships) accounted for unique variance. Girls exhibited higher problem scores than did boys even when the authors considered ASQ scores. The authors observed comparable results for the anxious/depressed subscales. The confidence, discomfort, and preoccupation dimensions predicted scores on the withdrawn subscale. The authors observed weak relations or no relations between results on the ASQ and the externalizing problems scale. In conclusion, dimensions of attachment are powerful predictors of interna...Keywords
This publication has 44 references indexed in Scilit:
- Adolescents’ Perceptions of Primary Caregivers and Cognitive Style: The Roles of Attachment Security and GenderCognitive Therapy and Research, 2005
- Rethinking adult attachment: A study of expert consensusBulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 2005
- Stability and Change in Attachment Security Across AdolescenceChild Development, 2004
- Self-reported competencies and problems among Swedish adolescents: a normative study of the YSREuropean Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2001
- Self-reported attachment style, attachment quality, and symptoms of anxiety and depression in young adolescentsPersonality and Individual Differences, 2001
- Cross-cultural generalizability of the youth self-report and teacher's report form cross-informant syndromesJournal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1996
- Attachment security in preschoolers with and without externalizing behavior problems: A replicationDevelopment and Psychopathology, 1991
- The Fate of Early Experience Following Developmental Change: Longitudinal Approaches to Individual Adaptation in ChildhoodChild Development, 1990
- Avoidance of Intimacy: An Attachment PerspectiveJournal of Social and Personal Relationships, 1990
- THE VALIDITY OF DEPRESSIVE DISORDER IN CHILDHOOD AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SELF‐RATING SCALE: A RESEARCH REPORTJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1981