Parent and child--Research

This thesis examined the possibility of meaningful associations between children's attachment styles in middle childhood and children's perceptions of the parent. Participants were 199 students (94 males, 105 females) in grades three through eight (mean age = 11.03 years) from a Florida university school. The children were administered self-report measures and peer-report nomination measures. Five attachment coping strategies (preoccupied, indecisive, avoidant, coercive, and caregiving) and four aspects of perceived maternal behavior (reliable support, overprotection, harassment, and fear induction) were assessed and numerous and meaningful associations were found. For example, perceived maternal overprotection was positively associated with preoccupied coping. Significant associations were also found between our avoidant, coercive, indecisive, and caregiving coping measures and perceived maternal reliable support, harassment, and fear induction. Our numerous and significant findings lend further support for the usefulness and value of our concurrent correlational self-report measures and to justify future longitudinal research to compare alternative models.

Participants were 199 children (105 females) in grades three through eight (mean age = 11.03 years). Five attachment coping strategies were assessed (preoccupied, avoidant, indecisive, coercive, and caregiving), and four aspects of perceived maternal behavior were assessed (reliable support, harassment, overprotection, and fear induction). Numerous meaningful associations were found between the attachment measures and the perceived parenting measures. For instance, perceived maternal overprotectiveness was significantly related to preoccupied and indecisive coping strategies, whereas perceived maternal harassment, fear induction, and reliable support were related in various ways to avoidant, indecisive, coercive, and caregiving attachment coping strategies. In general, the associations found between the perceived parenting measures and the attachment measures support the construct validity of the self-report measures of attachment and confirm that self-report measures are a fruitful way to assess attachment style in middle childhood.