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. 2007 Jul-Aug;78(4):1222-39.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01062.x.

The relation of attachment security to adolescents' paternal and peer relationships, depression, and externalizing behavior

Joseph P Allen  1 , Maryfrances Porter, Christy McFarland, Kathleen Boykin McElhaney, Penny Marsh
Affiliations

The relation of attachment security to adolescents' paternal and peer relationships, depression, and externalizing behavior

Joseph P Allen et al. Child Dev. 2007 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

The relation of attachment security to multiple domains of psychosocial functioning was examined in a community sample of 167 early adolescents. Security of attachment organization, assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview, was linked to success in establishing autonomy while maintaining a sense of relatedness both with fathers and with peers, even after accounting for predictions from qualities of the mother-teen relationship. Growth curve analyses revealed links of insecurity to increasing patterns of externalizing behavior and higher and stable patterns of depressive symptoms across adolescence. Implications for a developing theory of the connections of the attachment system to multiple domains of functioning in adolescence are discussed.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Moderating effect of gender on attachment security in predicting depressive symptoms.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Growth in externalizing behaviors as related to attachment security.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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