Ross B. Wilkinson

The Role of Parental and Peer Attachment in the Psychological Health and Self-Esteem of Adolescents

This paper presents the results of 3 studies examining the relationships of parental attachment, peer attachment, and self-esteem to adolescent psychological health. A model is presented in which parental attachment directly influences both psychological health and self-esteem and the influence of peer attachment on psychological health is totally mediated by self-esteem. Using structural equation modeling, Study 1 evaluates the model on a sample of 1998 Norwegian high school students (aged 12–19 years). With some modifications it is found to be a satisfactory fit. Study 2 replicates Study 1 using a sample of 358 Australian high school students (aged 15–18 years). A multisample analysis revealed no significant differences between the model for Studies 1 and 2. Study 3 was a further successful replication employing alternative measures of the constructs considered with a sample of 345 Australian high school students (aged 15–19 years). The major finding from all 3 studies is that the role of peer and parental attachment on psychological health is primarily meditated by self-esteem. Implications for research elucidating the links between attachment and specific aspects of self-esteem are discussed.

A second look at Carver and White's (1994) BIS/BAS scales

Abstract Previous attempts to operationalise Grays BIS-BAS theory at the personality level have not been very successful. Recently Carver and White (1994) presented new scales focussing specifically on dispositional BIS and BAS sensitivities. The current study ( N = 336) examined the internal validity of the newly created scales as well as their relationships with well established concepts and scales like Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Positive and Negative Emotionality. An exact replication of the principal components analysis of Carver and White (1994) is presented for comparison. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that a correlated four factor model provided the relatively best, but modest fit to the data. Correlations with Neuroticism, Extraversion, Positive and Negative Affectivity were generally in the predicted direction. However, Neuroticism and Extraversion were not predicted by Grays combinations of BIS and BAS activity, questioning the theory or its operationalisation in the new scales. A second order factor analysis supported the hypothesis that the Extraversion, Fun, Drive, and Positive Affect scales all measure a common positive personality factor, while the Neuroticism, BIS, and Negative Affect scales measure a common higher order negative factor. Reward Responsiveness, however, loaded on both factors.

Best friend attachment versus peer attachment in the prediction of adolescent psychological adjustment

This study examined the utility of the newly developed Adolescent Friendship Attachment Scale (AFAS) for the prediction of adolescent psychological health and school attitude. High school students (266 males, 229 females) were recruited from private and public schools in the Australian Capital Territory with ages of participants ranging from 13 to 19 years. Self-report measures of depression, self-esteem, self-competence and school attitude were administered in addition to the AFAS and a short-form of the Inventory of Parental and Peer Attachment (IPPA). Regression analyses revealed that the AFAS Anxious and Avoidant scales added to the prediction of depression, self-esteem, self-competence, and school attitude beyond the contribution of the IPPA. It is concluded that the AFAS taps aspects of adolescent attachment relationships not assessed by the IPPA and provides a useful contribution to research and practice in the area of adolescent psycho-social adjustment.

Attachment and personality in the psychological health of adolescents

Attachment is argued to be a major influence on psychological health. However, research examining attachment and psychological health in adolescents frequently fails to distinguish between the different dimensions of psychological health and their differential relationship to attachment and key personality and life event variables. This cross-sectional study of 404 adolescents examined the role of attachment, neuroticism, extraversion, and positive and negative life events in psychological well-being and distress. Quality of attachment to parents, but not peers, predicted increased well-being and decreased distress independent of neuroticism, extraversion, and life event variables. It is concluded that while parental attachment is implicated in psychological health, the role and status of measures of quality of peer relationships as attachment is unclear.

Face ethnicity and measurement reliability affect face recognition performance in developmental prosopagnosia: evidence from the Cambridge Face Memory Test-Australian.

The Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT, Duchaine & Nakayama, 2006) provides a validated format for testing novel face learning and has been a crucial instrument in the diagnosis of developmental prosopagnosia. Yet, some individuals who report everyday face recognition symptoms consistent with prosopagnosia, and are impaired on famous face tasks, perform normally on the CFMT. Possible reasons include measurement error, CFMT assessment of memory only at short delays, and a face set whose ethnicity is matched to only some Caucasian groups. We develop the “CFMT-Australian” (CFMT-Aus), which complements the CFMT-original by using ethnicity better matched to a different European subpopulation. Results confirm reliability (.88) and validity (convergent, divergent using cars, inversion effects). We show that face ethnicity within a race has subtle but clear effects on face processing even in normal participants (includes cross-over interaction for face ethnicity by perceiver country of origin in distinctiveness ratings). We show that CFMT-Aus clarifies diagnosis of prosopagnosia in 6 previously ambiguous cases. In 3 cases, this appears due to the better ethnic match to prosopagnosics. We also show that face memory at short (<3-min), 20-min, and 24-hr delays taps overlapping processes in normal participants. There is some suggestion that a form of prosopagnosia may exist that is long delay only and/or reflects failure to benefit from face repetition.

The Measurement of Adolescent Psychological Health: One or Two Dimensions?

Psychological health in adult populations has been conceptualized as being comprised of two distinct, though related, dimensions: well-being and distress. Research into adolescent psychological health, however, has been dominated by a single factor approach with well-being and distress defining opposite ends of this continuum. Measures of psychological health were administered to 345 late adolescents. A series of confirmatory factor analyses supported an oblique two-factor model of psychological health with measures of anxiety and negative affect defining a distress construct and measures of positive affect, satisfaction with life, and happiness defining a well-being construct. A measure of depression loaded on both well-being and distress. It is concluded that although these two dimensions are highly correlated, they are distinguishable in adolescent samples. It is suggested that to avoid confusion in the literature authors should take more care in labeling the aspects of psychological health that they wish to assess.

Changes in psychological health and the marital relationship through childbearing: Transition or process as stressor?

Abstract Childbearing has generally been considered to have its greatest effect on the psychological health and marital relationship of individuals during the transition from childlessness to parenthood. Further, these detrimental effects are said to be greater for females than males. Psychological wellbeing, distress, and spouse dissatisfaction were recorded in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and three months postpartum for 210 subjects (107 females and 103 males). Multiparous subjects reported higher levels of distress and lower levels of wellbeing than primiparous subjects throughout the study period. Contrary to expectations, there was a general increase in distress and decrease in wellbeing with no differential effect for either parity or sex. However, self-reported spouse dissatisfaction increased significantly more for first-time mothers than for any other group. The results indicate that the process of childbearing has a deleterious effect on psychological health irrespective of wheth...

Self-discrepancies: Measurement and Relation to Various Negative Affective States

This study examined the validity of two methods for assessing self-discrepancies: an idiographic method (The Selves Questionnaire, SQ) and a nomothetic method (Adjective Rating List, ARL). It also tested several major hypotheses of self-discrepancy theory regarding the relations between self-discrepancies and emotional discomfort. SQ and ARL scores from 220 participants demonstrated moderate correlations between instruments and high intercorrelations between discrepancy scores within instruments. Self-discrepancy scores were related to negative emotional states, but the specificity of these relations was not demonstrated, nor did they make a substantial contribution to the prediction of negative emotional states after controlling for negative self-concept. Overall, these findings raise significant concerns about the relevance of self-discrepancies as measured by the SQ and ARL and fail to support the main contentions of self-discrepancy theory.

Is less more? Confirmatory factor analysis of the attachment style questionnaires

Few psychometric studies have confirmed the factor structure of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) (Feeney, Noller, & Hanrahan, 1994), a widely used self-report attachment measure. Moreover, no study has formally investigated the factor structure of the ASQ’s short form (ASQ-SF) proposed by Alexander, Feeney, Hohaus, and Noller (2001). The aim of the present study was to validate the factor structures of the ASQ and ASQ-SF, and to identify the more parsimonious measure. In two studies, a nested factor model provided the best fit, the ASQ-SF was the more parsimonious measure, and results were consistent across age and gender groups. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Attachment and interpersonal relationships in postnatal depression

Postnatal depression (PND) is a debilitating condition that has demonstrated negative impacts on the mother, her infant, and her intimate and social relationships. Using an attachment theory perspective, this study examined the relationship of insecure working models of attachment to depression, marital quality, infant bonding, and social support in Australian samples of diagnosed depressed (n=47) and comparison (n=68) mothers. Clinically depressed mothers reported less security of attachment and more preoccupied and fearful attachment. Irrespective of diagnostic status, attachment styles characterised by a negative model of self were associated with higher depression and lower quality of relationship with baby and spouse and the perception of less social support. The role of dismissing attachment in the outcomes was less clear. The potential mutual influence of depression and attachment working models is discussed, and it is concluded that while insecure attachment working models may be associated with postnatal depression, further research using longitudinal methods and multiple attachment assessment techniques is required.