Tomotaka Umemura

Is Emerging Adults’ Attachment Preference for the Romantic Partner Transferred From Their Attachment Preferences for Their Mother, Father, and Friends?

This study examined whether emerging adults’ attachment preference for their romantic partner is complementary to their attachment preferences for their mother, father, and friends using a cross-sectional research design. Participants were 1,021 emerging adults recruited in the Czech Republic (mean age = 21.46, SD = 1.55) who filled out questionnaires. The attachment preference for the romantic partner correlated inversely with the attachment preference for friends but not with the preference for the mother or for the father. Our regression analyses revealed that emerging adults who were currently in a romantic relationship and had a longer romantic relationship were more likely to prefer their partner and less likely to prefer their friends. However, those emerging adults were not necessarily less likely to prefer their parents. For females, the length of romantic relationship was positively linked to their preferences for their mother. Hence, the results of this study accord with the claim that emerging adults’ attachment preferences are shifted to the romantic partner only from friends and not from the parents.

Similarities and differences regarding changes in attachment preferences and attachment styles in relation to romantic relationship length : longitudinal and concurrent analyses

ABSTRACT This study examines whether attachment preferences and attachment styles with different figures (mother, father, romantic partner, and friends) change over the course of a romantic relationship. Study 1 employed a three-wave longitudinal sample of Czech young adults who were currently in a romantic relationship (N = 870; mean age = 21.57; SD = 1.51; 81% females). Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that, as romantic relationships progressed, attachment preferences for romantic partners increased and preferences for friends decreased. However, preferences for the mother or for the father did not change over time. The parallel pattern was found for attachment avoidance; as romantic relationships progressed, attachment avoidance with romantic partners decreased and avoidance with the best friend increased. Avoidance with mother or with father, however, did not change over time. Study 2 employed a cross-sectional international sample (n = 2,593; mean age = 31.99; SD = 12.13; 79% females). Multiple regression analyses replicated the findings of attachment avoidance in the longitudinal data.

Longitudinal changes in emerging adults' attachment preferences for their mother, father, friends, and romantic partner: Focusing on the start and end of romantic relationships

Only a few studies have longitudinally explored to whom emerging adults prefer to turn to seek closeness, comfort, and security (called “attachment preferences”), and previous studies on attachment preferences in emerging adults have focused only on the beginning of romantic relationships but not on the end of relationships. Czech emerging adults (M = 21.47; SD = 1.48) completed the questionnaire of attachment preferences at two time points, Wave 1 (Summer 2013) and Wave 2 (Summer 2014). Latent difference score analyses revealed that emerging adults who were not in a romantic relationship in Wave 1 but started a romantic relationship between the two waves (n = 97) and those who had a romantic partner in both waves (n = 379) were both more likely to increase their attachment preference for the romantic partner and decrease their preference for friends, whereas those who did not start a relationship (n = 185) were not. Emerging adults who were in a romantic relationship in Wave 1 but were not in Wave 2 (n = 69) decreased their preference for the partner and increased their preference for friends. In all the groups, attachment preferences for the mother, for the father, or for the family did not change. Multiple regression analyses further revealed that for those who had a romantic partner in both waves, their length of romantic relationship was associated with changes in attachment preferences for romantic partners and for friends.

Reviewing Japanese Concepts of Amae and Ie to Deeper Understand the Relevance of Secure-Base Behavior in the Context of Japanese Caregiver-Child Interactions

Attachment theorists believe that children rely on their caregivers for protection and exploration. Due to this emphasis on independent exploration, however, the extent to which this notion of secure-base behavior is valid in societies emphasizing belongingness, such as Japan, has been questioned. By conducting an in-depth exploration of two Japanese collectivistic concepts, amae and ie, the present paper reexamines the relevance of secure-base behavior in Japan. Current discussions of amae have relied on psychoanalytic concepts that were developed in Western culture, and thus may not accurately represent Japanese parent–child relations. By examining another traditional concept of the family system, ie, this paper proposes that attachment theory is relevant in Japanese culture because children’s individual competence is important to their families.

Changes in late adolescents’ voting intentions during the election campaign: Disentangling the effects of political communication with parents, peers and media

This article investigates the effects of political discussions with parents, political discussions with peers and exposure to political news during an election campaign on the voting intentions and behaviour of first-time voters. Longitudinal data collected in the Czech Republic are employed in the main analysis (N = 223). Results show that young people who frequently discuss politics with their peers are characterized by higher voting intentions and subsequent electoral participation. On the other hand, political discussions with parents and exposure to political news have no such effects. Furthermore, although it does not have an impact on voting intentions, more frequent political discussions with parents predict increased frequency of political discussions with peers. Overall, our results underscore the importance of peers in late adolescents’ political socialization.

Secure base script and psychological dysfunction in Japanese young adults in the 21st century: Using the Attachment Script Assessment.

The universality of secure base construct, which suggests that one’s use of an attachment figure as a secure base from which to explore the environment is an evolutionary outcome, is one of the core ideas of attachment theory. However, this universality idea has been critiqued because exploration is not as valued in Japanese culture as it is in Western cultures. Waters and Waters (2006) hypothesized that one’s experiences of secure base behaviors are stored as a script in memory, and developed a narrative assessment called the Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) to evaluate one’s secure base script. This study examined the validity of the ASA and the utility of secure base concept in Japanese culture. A sample of Japanese young adults (N = 89; M = 23.46; SD = 3.20; 57% = females) completed both the ASA and self-report questionnaires. The results revealed that the ASA score was associated with two dimensions of self-report questionnaires assessing parent–youth attachment relationships (trust and communication). The ASA score was not related to Japanese cultural values (amae acceptance, interdependent self-construal, and low independent self-construal). However, a low ASA score was related to a psychological dysfunction in the Japanese cultural context; hikikomori symptoms, which are defined as a desire to remain in his or her own room and his or her understanding of this behavior in other people. We concluded that since hikikomori can be interpreted as an extreme inhibition of exploration, the association between low secure base script and hikikomori symptoms suggests the utility of secure base construct in Japan.

Adolescents’ multiple versus single primary attachment figures, reorganization of attachment hierarchy, and adjustments: the important people interview approach

ABSTRACT Using 212 adolescents from a central-European country (mean age = 14.02, SD = 2.05, ranged from 11 to 18 years; females = 54%) and a multi-informant method to measure adolescents’ behavioral and emotional adjustments, the present study explored three aspects regarding the attachment hierarchy. (1) The three types of behavioral systems of Rosenthal and Kobak’s important people interview (IPI) were initially validated using an exploratory factor analysis with a US sample. Using a confirmatory factor analysis with a Czech sample, we replicated these three behavioral systems: attachment bond, support seeking, and affiliation. (2) We found that adolescents who developed attachment bond to multiple primary attachment figures were likely to score lower on both teacher-rated and parent-rated internalizing problems compared to those who had a single primary attachment figure. These multiple primary attachment figures tended to be family members (not peers). (3) Early adolescents who placed parents low in their attachment hierarchy scored higher on self-reported negative affect and lower on self-reported positive affect compared to early adolescents who placed parents high. The present study highlights multiple (vs. single) primary attachment figures as a protective factor and the premature reorganization of attachment hierarchy as a risk factor for adolescents’ emotional and affective adjustments.