Jonathan F. Mattanah

Parental Attachment, Separation-Individuation, and College Student Adjustment: A Structural Equation Analysis of Mediational Effects.

Secure parental attachment and healthy levels of separation-individuation have been consistently linked to greater college student adjustment. The present study proposes that the relation between parental attachment and college adjustment is mediated by healthy separation-individuation. The authors gathered data on maternal and paternal attachment, separation-individuation, and 3 dimensions of college adjustment in a sample of 404 college students. Using structural equation modeling, results supported a model in which separation-individuation fully mediated the link between attachment and college adjustment, for both men and women. Implications of these results are discussed for individuation-within-relatedness models of adolescent development and for counseling college students in distress.

A Social Support Intervention to Ease the College Transition: Exploring Main Effects and Moderators

This study examined effects of a peer-led social support group intervention on college adjustment. Ninety first-year students, randomly assigned to participate in the intervention, reported higher levels of perceived social support and reduced loneliness when compared to controls (n = 94), after accounting for preintervention levels on these variables. Effects were not moderated by precollege adjustment concerns or gender. Results of this study suggest that a cost-effective peer-led intervention program can positively affect students’ social adjustment to university at a large, 4-year institution.

The Contributions of Parental Attachment Bonds to College Student Development and Adjustment: A Meta-Analytic Review

We report findings from a meta-analysis of 156 studies conducted between 1987 and 2009 (N = 32,969) that examined the relationship between self-reported parental attachment and multiple adjustment outcomes and developmental advances during the college years. Overall, a small-to-medium relationship was found between indicators of parental attachment quality and favorable adjustment outcomes (r = .23). Effect sizes were of similar magnitude for mother and father attachment relationships, for male and female students, and across ethnicity and nationality of the sample. The attachment-adjustment relationship varied somewhat according to the developmental task being investigated in the study, showing the strongest association for the task of separation-individuation. Additionally, we found stronger attachment-adjustment links for students residing away from their parents when compared with students living at home during college.

The impact of the therapeutic alliance on treatment outcome in patients with dissociative disorders

Background Research has shown that the therapeutic alliance plays an important role in enhancing treatment outcome among individuals with a variety of disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome has not yet been studied in dissociative disorders (DD). Objectives The current study sought to investigate the impact of alliance on treatment outcome for DD patients. Methods Data from a naturalistic, longitudinal international treatment study of DD patients and their therapists were analyzed to determine if the alliance, as reported by patients and therapists, was associated with treatment outcome. Results Patients with higher self-rated alliance had fewer symptoms of dissociation, PTSD, and general distress, as well as higher levels of therapist-rated adaptive functioning. Over time, self-rated alliance scores predicted better outcomes, after controlling for patient adaptive capacities including symptom management at the time when the alliance ratings were made. Patient-rated alliance was more strongly associated with outcome than therapist-rated alliance. Conclusion Therapists who work with DD patients should understand the importance of the alliance on treatment outcome. These findings are consistent with previous literature demonstrating the importance of developing and maintaining a strong therapeutic alliance, although the effect sizes of individuals with DD were stronger than what has been found in many other patient groups. A greater understanding of the impact of the alliance in traumatized individuals may contribute to better outcomes for these individuals.

Romantic competence, healthy relationship functioning, and well-being in emerging adults

A skills-based model of healthy relationship functioning—romantic competence (RC)—is described. Its association with relationship and individual well-being was examined in three studies of emerging adults using the Romantic Competence Interview for Emerging Adults (RCI–EA), which measures competence as the interplay of three skill domains. Across studies (women [n = 102], women and men [n = 187], romantic couples [n = 89]), RC was associated with greater security, healthier decision making, greater satisfaction, and fewer internalizing symptoms. The RCI–EA skill domains formed a latent factor and were associated with self-reports reflective of RC, supporting the constructs validity. The RC construct may thus provide a theory-driven, overarching way to characterize healthy romantic functioning that can reduce negative outcomes.

Interparental conflict, parental intrusiveness, and interpersonal functioning in emerging adulthood: Interparental conflict and emerging adulthood

The current study examined the effects of interparental conflict (IPC) on interpersonal functioning and psychopathology in emerging adulthood. In a sample of 188 emerging adult college students, IPC was associated significantly with greater symptoms of depression and loneliness. Furthermore, parental intrusiveness and romantic competence, as assessed by a novel interview methodology, mediated the links between IPC and depression symptomatology and loneliness. Links with prior research and implications for emerging adult functioning are discussed. Exposure to interparental conflict (IPC) poses a risk to mental health across the lifespan. Research has documented a range of difficulties for those exposed to IPC, including feelings of alienation, loneliness, sadness, anger, and fear in childhood (Crockenberg & Langrock, 2001; Grych, 1998; Sha’ked, Rokach, & Morris, 2013); emotional distress and poor self-esteem in early adolescence (Krishnakumar & Buehler, 2000); and anxiety and depression in late adolescence (Jekielek, 1998). Exposure to IPC also has lingering effects into adulthood, where individuals report experiencing high levels of distress, internalizing psychopathology, and disrupted family processes (Goeke-Morey, Papp, & Cummings, 2013; Holahan, Valentiner, & Moos, 1994; Lucas-Thompson & Hostinar, 2013). Moreover, research suggests that the quality of family relationships is an important mediator of the link between IPC and distressful outcomes in emerging adulthood (Lopez, Campbell, & Watkins, 1989; Shaina A. Kumar, Department of Psychology, Towson University; Jonathan F. Mattanah, Department of Psychology, Towson University. Correspondence should be addressed to Shaina A. Kumar, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Department of Psychology, Lincoln, NE 68588, e-mail: skumar@huskers.unl.edu. Lucas-Thompson & Hostinar, 2013). The current study extends this work by examining both parenting behaviors and students’ own romantic competence as mediators of the IPC–interpersonal adjustment link. Arnett (2000) highlights the challenges associated with the emerging adulthood developmental period. Numerous life transitions during this time are associated with a risk of mental health problems, and the way in which individuals conceptualize and find support in their family relationships is particularly critical to navigating these life transitions (Lucas-Thompson & Hostinar, 2013). For example, Tucker, Holt, and Wiesen-Martin (2013) found that emerging adults’ exposure to IPC in childhood and adolescence predicted poorer life adjustment in early adulthood. Lopez and colleagues (1989) also found that college students who came from maritally distressed families displayed heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and worse global functioning. Likewise, interactions between parental conflict and parental inconsistency have both been implicated in depressive symptomatology in college students (Schwarz & Zuroff, 1979), and IPC has been linked to greater rumination and subsequent depression in emerging adult samples (Johnson, Carr, & Whisman, 2015). Afifi and Schrodt (2003)

Change in parental and peer relationship quality during emerging adulthood: Implications for academic, social, and emotional functioning

We report on two longitudinal studies, where we examined how stability and change in attachment to parents and peers from the first to last year of college were associated with changes in theoretically relevant outcomes. As expected, students with consistently secure parental and peer attachment evidenced the best academic, social, and emotional functioning overall. Participants with “stable secure” parental attachment reported significant increases in their academic and emotional functioning and their social competencies; on the other hand, students with consistently low parental attachment showed a decline in their emotional functioning. Participants with stable secure peer attachment also reported lower overall levels of depression and loneliness, better social competence, and more favorable attitudes about help-seeking. Finally, students who transitioned from lower to higher parental attachment showed significant declines in loneliness; those transitioning from low to high peer attachment evidenced a significant increase in social functioning. We discuss implications for how college-based programming might serve to forestall declines in parental/peer attachment and/or facilitate skill building among students who identify with a more insecure style at college entry.