Gary Creasey

Affective responses, cognitive appraisals, and conflict tactics in late adolescent romantic relationships : Associations with attachment orientations

Although research has linked late adolescent attachment difficulties with broad problems in romantic relationships, less work has focused on how these difficulties relate to precise problems in these relationships. In the current study, the authors examined associations between attachment orientations and coping with conflict in romantic relationships in a sample of college students (N = 357) by developing a path analytic model. Adolescents with more-insecure attachment orientations were predicted to report more negative affect during disagreements, less confidence in coping during arguments, and less optimal conflict tactics (e.g., more conflict escalation) than youth with more-secure representations. The predictions imbedded within the model were generally supported. Although more-avoidant and more-ambivalent adolescents reported less optimal conflict tactics than did more-secure adolescents, individual differences in the attachment process predicted differential affective-cognitive responses during these disputes. This study has implications for attachment research and interventions with adolescents.

Conflict Management With Friends and Romantic Partners: The Role of Attachment and Negative Mood Regulation Expectancies

The degree to which attachment orientations are related to negative mood regulation expectancies and conflict management strategies with best friends and romantic partners was examined for a sample of late adolescent, female college students (N = 140). Correlational and multiple regression analyses yielded results that were generally consistent with theoretical expectations. Adolescents with more insecure attachment orientations were likely to report having difficulties managing conflict with attachment figures and had less confidence regulating negative mood than individuals who endorsed more secure orientations. In addition, more avoidant and ambivalent attachment orientations often predicted specific conflict management difficulties, and confidence in negative mood regulation partially mediated these associations. The results are discussed in relation to previous research on attachment theory and implications for interventions are offered.

Parental stress, coping, and attachment in families with an 18-month-old infant

Abstract Competing data exist regarding the influence of child care arrangements on infant social development. Yet, a large amount of within-group variability for both nonmaternally cared for infants and infants cared for in their homes by their mothers has been found with regard to such social developmental outcomes as attachment. The present study assessed coping as a mediator in the relationship between parenting stress and attachment for 32 families consisting of a mother, father, and their 18-month-old infant. The Attachment Q-Set, Parenting Stress Index, and Ways of Coping were administered. Parenting stress was significantly associated with insecure attachment to mothers and fathers. It was indicated that psychological separation (due to stress) more than actual physical separation (due to child care arrangements) may be a salient variable in considering the impact of child care on the relationship between infants and their parents. Positive reappraisal, as a coping strategy, was related to substantial reductions in the associations between parenting stress and attachment security. Although the results are not causal, implications for prevention efforts were suggested based on the coping strategies that were adaptive in mediating parenting stress versus those that were not.

Relationships between parenting stress and developmental functioning among 2-year-olds

Abstract The purpose of this article was to specify the relation between parenting stress and the early behavioral organization of 2-year-olds. Twenty-seven families provided assessments of parental stress and child behavior problems. In addition, observations of toddler pretend play and autonomy development were conducted. Mothers who reported higher level of stress within areas of life related to parental adjustment (e.g., relationship with spouse, social isolation, health) had toddlers who exhibited more externalizing and total behavior problems. In addition, mothers who reported higher levels of stress in relation to their toddler (e.g., perceptions of reinforcement from child) were more likely to have toddlers who exhibited behavior problems, less pretend play, and less usage of self-assertion during home observations. Finally, fathers who reported higher levels of stress in relation to their toddler also reported more behavioral problems.

Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of parenting hassles : Associations with psychological symptoms, nonparenting hassles, and child behavior problems

Abstract The purpose of this study was to specify the relation between parenting hassles, nonparenting hassles, and child behavior problems in 60 nonreferred families and to determine if parenting hassles predict adult psychological symptoms beyond that explained by nonparenting hassles. Sixty families (56 mothers, 40 fathers) completed measures assessing parenting hassles, nonparenting hassles, and symptoms of psychological distress. Mothers and teachers also provided data on frequency of childrens behavior problems. Results indicated that child behavior problems and nonparenting stress were both correlated with parenting stress, yet in a majority of multivariate analyses, child behavior problems played a much stronger, predictive role. In addition, teacher reports of child behavior problems were positively associated with both maternal and paternal parenting hassles, indicating that within this sample, parenting stress was associated with hassles pertaining to realistic, as opposed to distorted, perceptions of child behavior problems. Supporting current models of the stress process, nonparenting hassles were significantly associated with symptoms of psychological distress in both mothers and fathers; however, parenting hassles also predicted distress in an additive manner. Implications for future research and application are discussed.

The relationship of gender, gender identity, and coping strategies in late adolescents.

The relationships among gender, gender identity, and coping in late adolescents were examined. One hundred sixty-nine late adolescents completed measures assessing their masculinity and femininity, as well as their use of coping strategies. Females endorsed greater use of emotion-focused coping strategies than males. Late adolescents who were high in masculinity endorsed higher levels of problem-focused coping strategies than those who were low in masculinity. In contrast, late adolescents who were high in femininity endorsed higher levels of emotion-focused coping strategies than those who were low in femininity. Neither the gender nor the masculinity and femininity of late adolescents were predictive of the use of avoidant coping strategies. Overall, gender identity made an important and independent contribution to the endorsement of coping strategy use. These results emphasize the importance of assessing both gender and gender identity with regard to coping in late adolescents.

Generalized and Specific Attachment Representations: Unique and Interactive Roles in Predicting Conflict Behaviors in Close Relationships

The authors expected that associations between the representations individuals possess regarding romantic partners and their conflict behavior would be moderated by generalized attachment representations (GAR). To test this premise, college students (N =130) were administered two attachment measures and were observed during conflict negotiation with their partners. The Relationship Styles Questionnaire assessed specific representations regarding partners and GAR were measured by the Adult Attachment Interview. The relationship between romantic partner representations and conflict tactics were dependent on GAR. Individuals who possessed secure GAR generally displayed good conflict management skills, regardless of their attachment representations regarding their romantic partners. Individuals who held more anxious or avoidant perceptions of romantic partners displayed more problematic conflict tactics if they possessed insecure GAR; however, these associations were dependent on the type of conflict behavior and the type of insecure GAR. Implications for future research are discussed.

Hassles, coping, and depressive symptoms in an elderly community sample : the role of mood regulation expectancies

To extend research on the role of expectancy in coping, 96 individuals aged 65 years or older (M = 74.46, SD = 6.28) from non-nursing home residential communities and organizations completed measures of daily hassles, situational coping responses, depressive symptoms, and generalized expectancies for negative mood regulation, defined as beliefs about ones ability to alleviate a negative mood. Scores from the Negative Mood Regulation Scale (S.J. Catanzaro & J. Mearns, 1990) were negatively associated with avoidant coping and depressive symptoms, independent of hassles and coping responses. As in college student samples, active coping was positively related to depressive symptoms, but only when negative mood regulation expectancies were controlled. The relations of hassles and expectancies with coping responses were weaker than those found previously in younger samples.

The Association Between Divorce and Late Adolescent Grandchildren's Relations with Grandparents

While researchers have documented the possible effects of divorce on childrens interpersonal relationships with significant others (e.g., parents, siblings, peers), research efforts examining the role of grandparents within these childrens social networks are limited. For the present study, 588 late adolescent college students (266 males, 322 females) completed the Network of Relationships Inventory (W. Furman and D. Buhrmester [1985] “Childrens Perceptions of the Personal Relationships in Their Social Network,” Developmental Psychology, Vol. 21, pp. 1016–1024) and frequency of contact estimates on each available biological grandparent. One hundred sixty-eight students were from families in which their biological parents had been divorced for more than two years. The remaining late adolescents were from intact families (i.e., biological parents still married). As hypothesized, late adolescent grandchildren from divorced families indicated less satisfactory relationships with paternal grandparents. In addition, granddaughters from divorced families indicated poorer relationships with parental grandparents when contrasted to grand-daughters in intact families and grandsons from divorced families. However, visible and phone contact with grandparents played a major role in sustaining relationships with grandparents for grandchildren from divorced families. Granddaughters, in general, also reported stronger relations with maternal grandmothers, regardless of group status. Explanations are offered for these results, as well as suggestions for future research.

Psychological distress in college-aged women: Links with unresolved/preoccupied attachment status and the mediating role of negative mood regulation expectancies

In the present study, associations between state of mind regarding attachment, expectancies for negative mood regulation (NMR), and the frequency of psychological problems were specified in a sample of young women (N = 104) involved in a collegiate setting. State of mind regarding attachment was assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 1996), while NMR expectancies and psychological health were measured via self-report instruments. The results supported the study hypotheses. As predicted, preoccupied women displayed less confidence in NMR and reported more psychological problems than 7secure and dismissing women. Similar findings were documented when contrasting unresolved/insecure and unresolved/secure women. NMR expectancies mediated relations between state of mind regarding attachment and psychological health. The study results have implications for attachment research and interventions with young adult women involved in collegiate settings.