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The role of parenting and attachment in identity style The role of parenting and attachment in identity style

development development

Kaylin Ratner University of Central Florida

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THE ROLE OF PARENTING AND ATTACHMENT IN IDENTITY STYLE

DEVELOPMENT

by

KAYLIN A. RATNER

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the Honors in the Major Program in Psychology

in the College of Sciences

and in The Burnett Honors College

at the University of Central Florida

Orlando, Florida

Spring Term 2013

Thesis Chair: Dr. Steven L. Berman

ii

ABSTRACT

Due to the significant relationships between parenting style, attachment, and identity formation

found in previous literature, this study investigated the possibility of attachment playing a

mediational role in the relationship between parenting and identity style. A total of 264 students

from two high schools participated in this study. Although not mediational, significant

relationships between maternal responsiveness, attachment, and the normative identity style were

found. An outstanding and unexpected finding of this study was that the attachment and

responsiveness measurements, although thought to be assessing different variables, are now

suspected to be looking at constructs that are almost one-in-the-same. Extending to practical

applications, the results of this study could be used to aid programs focused on fostering positive

youth development by emphasizing parental interaction, warmth, and support.

iii

DEDICATION

For my thesis chair, Dr. Steven Berman, and his wonderful guidance and patience. Thank

you for putting up with me for countless hours of answering emails and questions, reading

revisions, and mitigating anxiety. I am also very grateful for all the opportunities you gave me to

help me grow into the academic that I am today.

For Luiz Xavier, my graduate mentor. Thank you for giving me the confidence to begin a

project like this, as it has helped me immeasurably in preparation for the long road of graduate

school ahead. I cannot convey how appreciative I am for the push in the right direction. Without

you, I most certainly would not have been as successful as an undergraduate.

For my brother, Richard Ratner, for being one of the most enduring, caring, and

consistent individuals in my life. Our masculine culture recognizes emotion as a weakness;

however, your empathetic and compassionate nature makes you one of the strongest people that I

know.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, I’d like to thank my committee members, Dr. Steven Berman, Dr. Kimberly

Renk, and Dr. Maralee Walsh. I truly appreciate all of the great input and time you dedicated to

this project. You all had such wonderful insight, which made this entire endeavor incredibly

rewarding and smooth. Thank you to Clark Walker, Marlyn Tangney, Jackie McKeown, and

Julie Wilson for allowing me to commandeer your students to collect data. Thank you to

Estefany S. Bologna and Dorey S. Chaffee for your immense help with the data collection. You

two are not only great friends, but also some of the most competent, capable, and reliable people

that I have ever met. Finally, I owe a huge thank you to my place of work, Palm Coast Ford, for

allowing me to essentially write this entire thesis on-the-clock. I hope that you never realize how

much time I spent writing this rather than doing the job you paid me to do.

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... ix

LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ x

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1

LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 4

The Identity Crisis ....................................................................................................................... 4

Identity Status and Identity Style ................................................................................................ 7

Identity Status. ......................................................................................................................... 7

Identity-processing Style. ........................................................................................................ 8

The Relationship between Identity Status and Identity-processing Styles .............................. 9

Parenting Styles ......................................................................................................................... 10

The Relationship between Parenting and Identity Style. ....................................................... 12

Attachment ................................................................................................................................ 14

Attachment Styles. ................................................................................................................. 14

The Relationship between Attachment and Parenting. .......................................................... 17

The Relationship between Attachment and Identity Formation. ........................................... 19

The Relationship between Attachment and Identity Status. .................................................. 21

Overview, Rationale, and Hypotheses ...................................................................................... 23

Parenting Style is Related to Identity Style. .......................................................................... 24

Parenting Style Predicts Attachment. .................................................................................... 25

vi

Attachment Predicts Identity Development. .......................................................................... 25

Attachment as a Mediating Factor. ........................................................................................ 26

METHOD ..................................................................................................................................... 28

Participants ................................................................................................................................ 28

Materials .................................................................................................................................... 29

Demographic Questionnaire. ................................................................................................. 30

Identity Style Inventory – 3 (ISI-3; Berzonsky, 1992b). ....................................................... 30

Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Parent Subscale) (IPPA; Armsden & Greenberg,

1987). ..................................................................................................................................... 31

The Authoritative Parenting Index (API; Jackson, Henriksen, & Foshee, 1998). ................ 31

Procedure ................................................................................................................................... 32

RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 34

Preliminary Analyses and Descriptive Statistics ....................................................................... 34

Parenting Style. ...................................................................................................................... 34

Identity Style.......................................................................................................................... 34

Attachment............................................................................................................................. 35

Hypothesis 1 .............................................................................................................................. 37

Hypothesis 2 .............................................................................................................................. 38

Hypothesis 3 .............................................................................................................................. 39

Hypothesis 4 .............................................................................................................................. 40

DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................... 43

vii

Parenting Style is Related to Identity Style ............................................................................... 43

Parenting Style Predicts Attachment ......................................................................................... 47

Attachment Predicts Identity Style ............................................................................................ 48

Attachment as a Mediating Factor ............................................................................................ 49

Impact and Contribution............................................................................................................ 50

Cautionary Remarks about Utilizing the API’s Responsiveness Subscale and the IPPA

together in Future Research. .................................................................................................. 50

Controlling Third Variable Problems. ................................................................................... 51

Family Therapy and Youth Development Programs. ............................................................ 51

Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 52

Survey Length........................................................................................................................ 52

Perspective. ............................................................................................................................ 53

Areas for Future Research ......................................................................................................... 53

Construct Validity of Responsiveness and Attachment Measures. ....................................... 53

Shortening the Questionnaire. ............................................................................................... 54

Multiple Reports. ................................................................................................................... 55

Investigating the Father’s Role in Identity Formation. .......................................................... 57

APPENDIX A: IRB APPROVAL OF HUMAN RESEARCH .................................................... 58

APPENDIX B: INFORMED PARENTAL CONSENT ............................................................... 60

APPENDIX C: FLAGLER PALM COAST HIGH SCHOOL (FLAGLER COUNTY, FL)

PRINCIPAL APPROVAL ............................................................................................................ 64

viii

APPENDIX D: SEABREEZE HIGH SCHOOL (VOLUSIA COUNTY, FL) PRINCIPAL

APPROVAL ................................................................................................................................. 66

APPENDIX E: SURVEY ............................................................................................................. 68

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 77

ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Erikson’s (1950) Psychosocial Stages of Development .................................................... 5

Table 2 Participant Family Dynamics........................................................................................... 29

Table 3 Intercorrelations of all Continuous Variables .................................................................. 36

x

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. The Relationship between Parenting and Identity Style is Mediated by Attachment ... 27

1

INTRODUCTION

Adolescents are unique in the sense that they must face one of the most daunting tasks

one will ever experience in their lifetime. They must devise an answer to the overwhelming

question: who am I? Some willingly deal with these issues, others avoid the task all together,

some develop a clear sense of who they are and what they want, whereas others remain

ambivalent. In any case, many studies have shown that the formation of a reasoned, sound, and

carefully constructed identity is conducive to mental soundness, psychological/physical health,

and general well-being (e.g., Schwartz, 2010; Waterman, 2007). The categorical classification of

identity-seeking individuals has been formulated into two distinct paradigms outlining separate

constructs related to identity development (Marcia, 1966; Berzonsky, 1989); however, given this

extensive study on identity classification, one might wonder what factors determine such

outcomes.

The present study investigated parental influences as related to the attitude one adopts

when facing how to form an identity (or lack thereof). Many researchers have looked at the role

that various constituents play in identity development, but one of the most promising links lie in

the earliest form of socialization: the parent-child relationship. Associations have been

established between aspects of child rearing and an adolescent’s identity-relevant information

processing style (Berzonsky, 2004; Smits et al., 2008; Soenens, Berzonsky, Dunkel, & Papini,

2011). This study sought to further investigate and support the tie between parenting style and

identity style to see if exposure to a certain parenting style influences which orientation an

adolescent uses to tackle a decision that plays a pivotal role in the rest of his life. More

specifically, this study looked at finding a relationship between parenting style and identity styles

2

in a nonclinical high school-aged population, which, to our knowledge, had not yet been

examined. An advantage of looking at the high school population versus the college population

is the notable difference in parental pervasiveness. Given that most high school students still live

with their parents, parenting style is an integral, and sometimes unavoidable, part of daily

interaction. Investigating the relationship between parenting style and identity style in a younger

population may yield different results than what has been shown previously in studies using

university students.

Furthermore, this study explored the possible existence of a mediating role of attachment

in the relationship between parenting and identity style. Research on parenting style and parental

attachment has come to the consensus that supportive, responsive, and caring parents yield the

most secure attachments (e.g., Kobak & Sceery, 1988; Kerns, Tomich, Aspelmeier, & Contreras,

2000). The results of studies examining how parental attachment and identity status are

correlated have resulted in conflicting findings: some studies have shown that attachment

predicts identity exploration (characteristic of the moratorium and identity achievement statuses),

whereas others have not found this relationship, but rather, that parental attachment encourages

identity commitment (characteristic of the foreclosure and achievement statuses) (e.g., Årseth,

Kroger, Martinussen, & Marcia, 2009; Hoegh & Bourgeois, 2002; Kroger & Haslet, 1988).

Identity status and identity style have also been found to be interrelated: informational

processing style is positively correlated with identity achievement and moratorium, normative

processing style is positively associated with foreclosure, and diffusive-avoidant processing style

is positively related with identity diffusion (Berzonsky, 1989; Berzonsky & Neimeyer, 1994). As

far as looking at attachment as a mediating factor, one such study by Quintana and Lapsley

3

(1987) examined the effects of attachment on parental control and ego identity in undergraduate

students. This study found that adolescents that perceived their parents (namely, their father) as

high on control reported weak attachment, which in turn, was found to have a weak negative

correlation with identity achievement. I have been unable to find any other studies dedicated to

finding such a relationship.

All in all, not much research has followed up on how attachment plays a role in the

previously noted relationship between parenting styles and identity formation. Due to the

literature on relationships between identity status and identity style, parenting and identity style,

attachment and identity status, and attachment and parenting, there is cause for inquiry about

how attachment plays a role in the formation of identity style because this could help explain

how parenting style influences identity development as a whole. Finally, this study is the first to

focus on the effect of attachment on the relationship between parenting and the formation of

identity styles.

4

LITERATURE REVIEW

The Identity Crisis

Erik Erikson is most well-known for his work on psychosocial development throughout

the life cycle (Erikson, 1950). Erikson proposed that, at various points throughout life,

individuals encounter a crisis relative to the social demands of their respective age group. Each

stage has two outcomes that fall on either end of a spectrum. On one end of the continuum, there

is an adaptive result, in which case, a virtue is learned and healthy development ensues. When

the virtue is formed successfully, the individual smoothly transitions on to the next stage in the

developmental cycle. On the other end, the virtue is not learned and the result is a maladaptive

outlook on the world in terms of the virtue, known as a core pathology. If a core pathology is

learned rather than the virtue, hindrance of subsequent developmental stages may result as well

as a predisposition toward dysfunction in the social capacity later in life. The psychosocial

stages, the approximate age of crisis onset, virtues, and core pathologies are listed in Table 1.

5

Table 1

Erikson’s (1950) Psychosocial Stages of Development

Stage Approximate Age Virtue Core Pathology

Trust vs. Mistrust Infancy Hope Withdrawal

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Early Childhood Will Compulsion

Initiative vs. Guilt Play Age Purpose Inhibition

Industry vs. Inferiority School Age Competence Inertia

Identity vs. Role Confusion Adolescence Fidelity Repudiation

Intimacy vs. Isolation Young Adulthood Love Exclusivity

Generativity vs. Stagnation Middle Adulthood Care Rejectivity

Integrity vs. Despair Mature Adulthood Wisdom Disdain

Of Erikson’s psychosocial stages, Identity vs. Role Confusion has received some of the

most substantial attention. Between youth and adulthood, Erikson postulated that individuals

encountered a sort-of psychological limbo in adolescent years called moratorium (Erikson,

1950). It is during this moratorium that adolescents are supposed to search out for a position

within the community where one is recognized as an individual (Erikson 1956). As with the

other crises, one may end up at any point along a continuum. When it comes to the identity

crisis, the continuum flows from the formation of a concrete sense of identity to identity

6

diffusion/role confusion. The outcome is dependent on the extent to which an individual has

committed to an occupation and ideology (Erikson, 1950, 1956).

Erikson (1950) holds that the successful outcome, the formation of a sense of ego

identity, is “the accrued confidence that the inner sameness and continuity prepared in the past is

matched by the sameness and continuity of one’s meanings for others, as evidenced in the

tangible promise of a ‘career’” (p. 261-262). The ideal sense of ego identity should be a

coherent, cohesive, homogeneous entity. The individual’s sense of self, if successfully formed,

should be stable across situations and from person to person. Moreover, Erikson (1956)

speculated that the ego identity, being comprised of all of our childhood experiences, should

appropriately prepare us to deal with challenges that we should expect to face in adulthood.

On the other end of the continuum, one can end up in a diffused, maladaptive category

known as role confusion. In his original work, Erikson (1950) suggested that role confusion was

characterized by not having made an occupational decision, which causes distress. He goes on to

say that lack of a discrete identity leads adolescents on a journey of over-identification with

social groups. Although this poorer outcome of the identity crisis is less imminently deleterious

than the previous four stages, one could suspect that the failed construction of an identity would

considerably handicap the future developmental stages.

It is very important to point out that Erikson did not see identity as a function restricted to

the adolescent time period. Identity formation is of particular fascination because it is a

continuous development throughout the entire life cycle; it is a cumulative effort. It neither

begins, nor does it ever end (Erikson, 1956).

7

Identity Status and Identity Style

Identity Status. Branching off such a definition proposed by Erikson, Marcia (1964)

defined four identity statuses based on the level of identity commitment and the exploration

(meaning, the degree to which one has looked at and tested alternative beliefs) that an individual

has participated in during the identity journey. The identity statuses he prepared and validated

are diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and achievement (Marcia, 1966). Marcia decided to

retain the term “identity diffusion” because that is what Erikson originally called the maladaptive

outcome of the identity crisis. Erikson later changed this term to “role confusion” as his work

progressed (as cited in Marcia, 1964, p.12). It is beyond the scope of this study to explain the in-

depth differences between the statuses, but it is of particular importance to mention them because

they are interrelated to the concept of the identity-processing styles (Berzonsky, 1989;

Berzonsky & Neimeyer, 1994).

Waterman (1982) theorized identity status as a mobile effort. He projected that most

individuals begin in a state of diffusion, which is characterized by low exploration and low

identity commitment. From there, some branch off into moratorium, while others turn to

foreclosure, and some remain in the diffusive state. In moratorium, the individual is high in

exploration, yet still low in commitment. In foreclosure, the individual has engaged in little

explorative behavior, but has found and is highly committed to a certain occupation and/or set of

beliefs. Finally, if the individual surpasses moratorium, they move into the state of identity

achievement, which is Erikson’s original, successful outcome of the identity crisis (Waterman,

1982; Erikson, 1950). This individual has explored many options and has decided to commit to a

coherent collection of beliefs and values, otherwise known as an identity. Waterman’s theory of

8

“movement” through the identity statuses makes it an insightful adaptation of Erikson’s identity

theory and a useful application of Marcia’s (1966) identity statuses.

Identity-processing Style. Identity-processing style is the way in which an individual

digests, interprets, and utilizes identity-relevant information (Berzonsky, 1989). Three categories

of identity-processing styles have been identified: informational, normative, and diffusive-

avoidant. Before making any one commitment, individuals with an informational processing

style enthusiastically seek out applicable identity information as self-motivated explorers

(Berzonsky, 1989). Individuals adhering to this processing style make decisions swiftly, are

conscientious, extroverted, open-minded, are less prone to panic, engage in less avoidance

behaviors, rationalize less, and do less buck-passing (Berzonsky, 1992a; Berzonsky & Ferrari,

1996; Dollinger, 1995).

The normative processing style is characterized by the tendency to be easily influenced

by others, especially those of particular importance to the individual (e.g., parents, teachers,

counselors, peers, etc.) (Berzonsky, 1989). That is, they tend to adopt other’s viewpoints, beliefs,

and norms. The normative-processing style has been found to be negatively correlated with

openness to experience and alternative beliefs; however, normative individuals are also likely to

be the most conscientious, agreeable, and the least neurotic people (Dollinger, 1995). Normative-

style individuals will often times misconstrue new information to fit in, or shield against

information that conflicts with, the beliefs that they hold (Berzonsky, 1992a).

Finally, diffusive-avoidant individuals are most likely to adjourn the processing and

commitment of any identity-relevant information. In other words, they attempt to avoid making

definite decisions related to who they are. They put off what is important until circumstantial

9

factors mandate that a decision must be made (Berzonsky, 1989). They are more likely to make

use of an emotion-based coping style and are significantly more likely to be depressed because

they are high in neuroticism (Berzonsky, 1992a; Dollinger, 1995). The diffusive-avoidant

processing style has been found to be negatively correlated with conscientiousness,

agreeableness, openness, and extroversion (Berzonsky, 1992a; Dollinger, 1995). They are the

least vigilant decision makers, most prone to panic, and the most likely to engage in avoidance

behaviors, rationalization, and buck-passing (Berzonsky & Ferrari, 1996).

Vleioras and Bosma (1995) have demonstrated that the identity styles are moderately

correlated with aspects of psychological well-being. The most consistent predictor of well-being

was the presence of commitment, which is usually found in those with informational and

normative styles. These two styles were also found to be positively associated with personal

growth, but only when the styles themselves were inverted, meaning, someone with a high

informational approach and a low amount of normative approach would produce the highest

scores of personal growth. Those with the diffusive-avoidant style reported in a way that was

negatively correlated with scales predicting positive interpersonal relationships, environmental

mastery, a sense of a purpose in life, and personal growth. Vleioras and Bosma’s findings

suggest that the diffusive-avoidant identity style is the least conducive to psychological well-

being.

The Relationship between Identity Status and Identity-processing Styles. Identity

styles and status seem to be interrelated in the sense that those of a certain status engage in a

certain way of processing their identity-relevant information. Those with an informational-

processing style have been most closely linked to the moratorium and, more strongly, to the

10

identity achievement status. Normative individuals have been found to be most likely in

foreclosure, and the diffusive-avoidant individual shows the strongest tendencies towards the

diffusive status (Berzonsky, 1989; Berzonsky & Neimeyer, 1994).

Parenting Styles

Distinctions between parenting styles were made popular by Baumrind (1971). In this

work, she breaks down parenting styles into three distinct categories: permissive/indulgent,

authoritarian, and authoritative. Later, a fourth style known as neglectful/uninvolved parenting

emerged from the work of Maccoby and Martin (1983). Parents fall into these categories based

on the levels of responsiveness and demandingness they display when rearing their children.

Responsiveness is usually characterized by warmth and support, whereas demandingness is seen

in terms of discipline, intrusive parental behavior, and supervision (Baumrind, 1991).

Indulgent/permissive parents are characterized by high responsiveness, but low

demandingness. Permissive parents do not demand of their children or control them

psychologically or behaviorally. They are, however, warm and approachable (Baumrind, 1971).

Parents allow their child to consult with the family about decisions, do not set the stage for

governing future behavior, and allow themselves to be used as a resource for the child to fulfill

his wishes and desires (Baumrind, 1968). Interestingly, children that grow up in permissive

homes tend to be less self-regulatory, independent, and responsible than their counterparts who

were raised by parents that fell into the authoritative or authoritarian category (Baumrind, 1967,

1971).

Opposite of the permissive style is known as authoritarianism. Authoritarians are

generally low on responsiveness, but high on demandingness. Authoritarian parents are, for the

11

most part, emotionally distant and strict (Baumrind, 1971). These parents build extremely

structured environments for their children and expect behavior to rigidly align with their beliefs

and rules. They value obedience, conformity, and respect and expect the child to take their word

for what it is worth without question (Baumrind, 1968, 1971). Children raised in this

environment tend to be aloof and wary (Baumrind, 1967).

The third popular style of parenting currently recognized is authoritative. Authoritative

parents are high in demandingness, yet also high in responsiveness (Baumrind, 1971).

Authoritativeness has long been argued the most beneficial style of parenting. Parents that are

authoritative are relatively demanding, but also engage in effective communication with their

children, are open to the child’s attempts at autonomy, and are rational in their disciplines. They

recognize the child as an individual and use effective disciplinary choices to build and set an

expectation for future behavior (Baumrind, 1968). Studies have shown that children of

authoritative parents grow up to be the most self-regulated and investigative individuals

(Baumrind, 1967).

Among the most controversial parenting styles is the neglecting/uninvolved pattern. This

parenting style is characterized by low responsiveness and low demandingness. In cases of

neglectful parenting, parents are neither receptive nor responsive to their children. They are

disconnected from their children and hardly engage in any of the normal, responsible

undertakings that most parents take on aside from providing the most basic necessities (Maccoby

& Martin, 1983). None of the studies we examined measured the negligent parenting style as a

variable related to identity style, most likely due to infrequency or the resistance to disclose such

information. That is not to say, however, that this style should be ignored in future research.

12

Studies have shown that children from neglectful families have the lowest scores of

psychological adjustment, lowest academic competence, highest rates of delinquency, and the

second highest rates of somatic symptoms (Steinberg, Lambourn, Darling, & Mounts, 1994).

Judging by the maladaptive effects of negligent parenting found in Steinberg et al., it may be

useful to try and decipher the effects of uninvolved parenting on identity style as well.

The Relationship between Parenting and Identity Style. It’s no question that parents

have some of the utmost influence on their child’s development. Much early socialization occurs

as a result of the parent-child interface and many studies have shown that positive parental

interaction and relations with children yield the development of a sound identity (e.g., Grotevant

& Cooper, 1985).

The link between parental authority, identity styles, and identity commitment was first

investigated by Berzonsky (2004). In a sample of university students, he found that normative

processing style was most abundant in individuals who had perceived their parents as

authoritative. He also found that authoritative parenting was the only style to be negatively

correlated with diffusive-avoidant processing. Moreover, authoritative parenting was the only

style to significantly foster the informational processing style. A significant amount of normative

individuals indicated, as expected, that they had been raised in households conducted in the

authoritarian manner. This finding confirmed a side note of Marcia’s (1966) study that identified

foreclosed individuals as endorsing authoritarian values such as respect for authority and

obedience. Further confirming Berzonsky’s hypothesis, the diffusive-avoidant style was most

prominent among the permissive/indulgent families, but it was also found in individuals from

authoritarian households. The fact that Berzonsky found no other significant relationships

13

associated with indulgent parenting is intriguing. Perhaps different results would be seen in a

younger population due to stronger parental influence and increased parent-child interaction.

Of the three identity-processing styles studied by Berzonsky (2004), those with the

normative style had the strongest positive correlation with identity commitment, followed closely

by individuals with the informational style. Those falling into the diffusive-avoidant style

indicated attitudes that were negatively correlated with identity commitment. These findings

further reinforce the findings of the Berzonsky (1989) and Berzonsky and Neimeyer (1994)

studies, which relate identity style to the formation of Marcia’s (1964) ego-identity statuses.

Closely related to the Berzonsky (2004) study is the Smits and colleagues (2008) study

examining the correlation between parenting dimensions (support, behavioral control, and

psychological control) and identity styles in university students. Their findings suggested that the

informational-processing style is positively associated with parental support and, surprisingly,

psychological control. Secondly, Smits and colleagues found that when individuals indicated that

their mother implemented behavioral control and/or they felt a presence of general parental

support, they were more likely to also be of the normative-processing style. That is, maternal

behavioral control and parental support were positively associated with the normative identity

style. Finally, when examining the diffusive-avoidant style, they found that it was most

positively correlated with psychological control and negatively correlated with behavioral

control, which supports Berzonsky’s (2004) finding that diffusive-avoidant styles were

significantly correlated with both authoritarian and permissive styles.

Finally, Soenens and colleagues (2011) examined the relationship between three

additional parenting dimensions and identity style in university students. These dimensions

14

included parental regulation, responsiveness, and autonomy support (also known as democracy).

In their study, all three dimensions were positively correlated with an informational-processing

style. That is, individuals that engage in informational-processing style reported having parents

that were fairly regulatory of their behavior, responsive to their needs, and supported their efforts

at autonomy. This supports the findings that parental boundaries, along with expectations that the

parents are willing to help the child meet, are crucial to the development of an informational-

processing style (Fullinwider-Bush & Jacobvitz, 1993). Soenens and colleagues also found that

the most prominent indicator of a normative style was the presence of responsiveness, which

supports Berzonsky’s (2004) finding that authoritative parents were positively associated with

normative individuals. Also positively correlated with normative style (but not significantly after

other variables were controlled) was behavioral regulation (Soenens et al., 2011). Finally,

diffusive-avoidant style was negatively correlated with all three of the studied dimensions, which

mirrors Berzonsky’s (2004) findings.

Attachment

Attachment Styles. Bowlby (1969, 1973, 1980) defined the term “attachment” as a

profoundly emotional bond between two individuals. Bowlby saw attachment as an internalized

phenomenon that occurred in terms of black-and-white feelings about the self and others (as

cited in Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991, p. 226). He theorized that people think of themselves

and others in terms of positivity or negativity: they either see themselves as lovable or unlovable,

and they see others as either capable or incapable of love. Bowlby (1969, 1973, 1980) went on to

suggest that an internal working model develops, in which, individuals develop expectations

about how they may be treated by others in later social settings as a result of their experiences in

15

early social interactions (e.g., parenting). Attachment, therefore, comes as a result of previous

interactions with the primary caregiver and serves as a base for personality characteristics to

develop later in life (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980). In terms of infancy, Bowlby (1969, 1973,

1980) speculated that attachment was developed as an innate survival device used to gauge when

exploration of the environment is safe.

Using Bowlby’s (1969, 1973, 1980) theory as a starting point, Mary Ainsworth began

building an experiment to test parental attachment in early childhood and infancy. She, along

with her colleagues, designed “The Strange Situation,” in which, they observed children’s

patterns of response once their primary attachment figures had exited their immediate proximity

(Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). As a result of their experiment, they identified three

styles of attachment in terms of how the child behaved when their attachment figure left, when

she returned, and when a stranger was present. The styles of attachment are secure, anxious-

resistant, and avoidant. The secure attachment pattern was by far the most common of all the

attachment styles. Ainsworth found that children who were securely attached to their caregiver

showed a moderate amount of distress upon the figure exiting the room, hesitance when

interacting with strangers (especially when their primary attachment figure was no longer in

close proximity), and showed positive emotions upon the return of their caregiver. Ainsworth

also noted that of the attachment styles, those with a secure attachment explored more when their

caregiver stayed nearby, which validates Bowlby’s original hypothesis suggesting that security

fosters explorative behaviors (Ainsworth et al., 1978; Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980). Children with

anxious-resistant attachment showed much ambivalence and an array of mixed emotions: they

were intensely distraught once their caregiver left the room, showed fear and avoidance of the

16

stranger despite whether or not their caregiver was present, appeared unable to be placated by the

primary attachment figure, and even showed rejecting behaviors (i.e., pushing away) upon figure

return. Anxious-resistant children also explored much less than the other two attachment styles.

Finally, avoidant children showed the most indifference no matter the conditions. Avoidant

children showed a lack of concern when their caregivers left the room, seemed comfortable in

the presence of a stranger, apathetic upon caregiver’s return, and were unable to be calmed by

both the stranger and the primary attachment figure (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Later, a fourth style

of attachment, known as disorganized attachment, was described by Main and Soloman (1986)

as being a style characterized by mixed emotionality. Children in this category do not display

any organized, set, coherent, or consistent pattern of behavioral responses to stress that were

previously outlined by Ainsworth and colleagues (1978). Children in this category often seem

confused by or afraid of their caregivers.

Studies have shown that attachment styles continue on well after infancy has ended and

impact many facets of life once an individual has entered adulthood (e.g., Ainsworth, 1989;

Feeney & Cassidy, 2003). One theory of attachment suggests that an adult’s romantic attachment

style carries over from childhood with almost the same stylistic qualities as the attachment they

experienced as a child with their primary caregivers (Shaver & Hazan, 1993). According to

Shaver and Hazan (1993), adults can be divided into the same three attachment styles as

identified by Ainsworth and colleagues (1978). Adults falling into the secure attachment

category have the healthiest relationships, characterized by compassion, helpfulness, minimal

jealousy, and a great amount of trust. Those fitting into the anxious attachment style seem almost

uncomfortable in close relationships. These individuals desire close, intimate connections, but

17

are handicapped by their inability to trust which results in clinginess. Finally, the avoidant

attachment style tends to avoid close relationships all together.

Another theory of adult romantic attachment draws from Bowlby’s original theory on

discrete categories between one’s perceptions of self and others. Romantic attachment in

adulthood was divided into four distinct categories by Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991).

According to their results, people fall primarily into one of four categories based on their level of

anxiety about themselves and level of avoidance of others. The types Bartholomew and Horowitz

distinguished are known as secure, dismissing-avoidant, preoccupied, and fearful-avoidant.

Those with a secure attachment style typically feel good about themselves and others (low

anxiety/low avoidance). Secure individuals are trusting, comfortable, and enjoy interpersonal

relationships. Individuals characterized by the preoccupied attachment style perceive themselves

negatively or unworthy of the love and companionship of others. They see others positively and

see them as generally trustworthy. This combination of low avoidance and high anxiety

predisposes the preoccupied individual to clinginess. Dismissing-avoidant individuals rate

themselves very positively; however, they are very individualistic to the point that they are

somewhat distrustful of others. Characterized by high avoidance and low anxiety, they tend to

rely on themselves more times than not. Finally, the fearful-avoidant individual sees himself as

unlovable and others as untrustworthy (high avoidance/high anxiety).

The Relationship between Attachment and Parenting. Decades ago, Harry Harlow

(1958) began studying variables involved in how attachment (or in Harlow’s words, “love”)

developed between infants and mothers via his, now, famous macaque monkey studies. In these

studies, Harlow and his associates constructed an experiment in which one-day-old monkeys

18

were exposed to two surrogate mothers, however, only one of these surrogates served as a food

source. One group of infant monkeys was assigned to an inanimate wire surrogate mother that

“lactated,” which provided the monkeys with their only source of nourishment. A second group

of monkeys was assigned to a lifeless, yet warm, terrycloth-lined, lactating surrogate mother. An

interesting finding of these monkey studies showed that despite which surrogate was their source

of food, the infants much preferred clinging to the mother that offered them a sense of comfort:

the terrycloth mother. Often times, the monkeys in the wire surrogate condition would cling to

the wire mother solely for the purposes of nourishment, promptly returning to the terrycloth

mother after feeding. Monkeys in the terrycloth-supplied nourishment condition almost never

unlatched. Although the macaque monkeys have significantly more motor skills at birth than

human infants, other factors that are linked to attachment responses are uncannily similar to that

of human babies. Harlow inferred from this analogous relationship between infant humans and

infant monkeys that being provided with our most instinctual need, food, was not enough to

harbor secure bonds with primary caregivers. Harlow’s study could provide basis to the

suggestion that negligent parenting (those parents that only provide the most basic needs) would

yield the least securely attached individuals.

Interestingly, there is not a lot of research investigating adolescent attachment styles and

parenting styles. The reason for this is because nonfamily (i.e., romantic relationships and peers)

has a propensity to become more of an influence and focus later in development (Ávila, Cabral,

& Matos, 2012). In the studies that have looked at how adolescent/adult attachment styles

emerge as a result of parenting style, a clear pattern is observed. Beginning with Quintana and

Lapsley (1987), a negative correlation was found between paternal control and secure attachment

19

styles. Shortly thereafter, Kobak and Sceery (1988) made connections between three types of

Bartholomew and Horowitz’s attachment styles and family relationships. Individuals

characterized by the secure attachment style reported experiencing the smallest amount of

personal stress and their families as being very socially supportive. Secure individuals recalled

disturbing childhood events with ease, but also remembered their family being there to help them

through difficult times. Dismissing-avoidant individuals reported that they were very distant

from their families, received little support, had trouble remembering upsetting childhood

experiences, felt rejected, uncared for, and lonely. Finally, preoccupied individuals felt love and

support from their families- much more so than the dismissing-avoidant individuals; however,

these individuals still felt a high level of personal distress (Kobak & Sceery, 1988). The fearful-

avoidant attachment style was not examined in Kobak and Sceery’s study. Kerns and colleagues

(2000) further validated these findings by showing that parental responsiveness is positively

correlated with secure attachment styles, yet negatively correlated with the dismissing-avoidant

and fearful-avoidant styles.

These results parallel and support Bowlby’s (1969, 1973, 1980) hypotheses about how

we form interpersonal attachments. Parents that demonstrate love and support for their children

create a trusting relationship. This, in turn, sets the stage for their offspring to have secure

expectations and attachment styles later in life.

The Relationship between Attachment and Identity Formation. Some studies have

found that there is continuity between attachment styles utilized in childhood and those used later

on in life (Sroufe, 2005). Furthermore, studies suggest that future attachment with romantic

partners reflects the characteristics of attachment styles seen as children (Feeney & Noller,

20

1990). In other words, even though change is characteristic of development, bottom-line traits

remain relatively stable.

Although individuals tend to begin to focus more on romantic attachment as they age,

parental attachment remains a precursor to the attachment styles they adhere to as adults (Ávila,

Cabral, & Matos, 2012; Feeney & Noller, 1990). That is not to say, however, that parental

attachment has any less of an influence on identity as a whole. Samuolis, Layburn, and

Schiaffino (2001) found that identity exploration and commitment was positively correlated with

maternal attachment, especially for female undergraduates. This relationship was much weaker

in the father/male adolescent interaction (Samuolis et al., 2010). Given these interesting results,

further research on gender identification and attachment may be warranted. The effects of

parental involvement are not without their drawbacks: Ávila, Cabral, and Matos found that if

there is too much parental involvement in late adolescence/early adulthood, the identity

development process is inhibited in terms of exploration. Individuals dominated by their parents’

emotional involvement become socially handicapped, that is, they do not develop the skills

necessary for developing intimacy and nonfamily trust. Despite these findings, it has been found

that parents play a fundamental role in the development of social skills, which dictates how

efficiently individuals will approach and thrive in peer/romantic relationships as adults (Engels,

Finkenauer, Meeus, & Deković, 2001).

Some studies have even gone a step further, defining how different attachment figures

(i.e., parents vs. peers) relate to different kinds of identity exploration and commitment. Meeus,

Oosterwegel, and Vollebergh (2002) found that a strong attachment with parents was positively

21

correlated with future identity as measured by school commitment. Peers, conversely, influenced

relational exploration and commitment, which are present-day concerns of many adolescents.

The Relationship between Attachment and Identity Status. Many studies have been

performed to distinguish a relationship between attachment style and identity status, yet much of

this work has yielded contradictory outcomes. Hoegh and Bourgeois (2002) found a positive

correlation between Bartholomew and Horowitz’s (1991) secure attachment and Marcia’s (1966)

identity achievement and moratorium. Furthermore, Hoegh and Bourgeois found that fearful-

avoidant attachment was negatively correlated with identity achievement and positively

correlated with identity diffusion. Other studies, for example, Zimmermann and Becker-Stoll

(2002), have expanded to look at other attachment styles and have found various results such as

secure attachment positively correlates with identity achievement, and dismissing-avoidant

attachment predicts identity diffusion.

In a study by Campbell, Adams, and Dobson (1984), researchers looked at the parent-

child relationship in terms of emotional attachment and relative independence among

undergraduate students. Their results suggest that those with the highest degree of attachment to

their parental figures fall into the identity achieved, moratorium, or foreclosure status. The

difference, however, is that adolescents in the foreclosure category indicated the most amount of

relative dependence on their parents. Campbell, Adams, and Dobson found that the final status,

diffusion, was found among individuals that claimed to have the most independence from, and

least amount of emotional attachment to, their parents.

Quintana and Lapsley (1987) found that parental attachment was predictive of identity

exploration; however, there was no empirical evidence suggesting that attachment was

22

exclusively related to any of the identity statuses. The only significant finding relating ego

identity to parental attachment showed that low levels of attachment led to low levels of identity

achievement (Quintana & Lapsley, 1987). Supporting these results, Kroger and Haslet (1988)

found that strong parental attachment was found among those in the identity achieved status.

These findings agree to some extent, but the overall view regarding identity status and parental

attachment is still unclear.

To make sense of this controversy, Årseth and colleagues (2009) took this conflicting

information and performed a meta-analysis of 14 studies to look at how romantic attachment

style is related to identity status. They identified a moderate-to-weak positive correlation

between Bartholomew and Horowitz’s secure attachment and identity achievement, and a

negative correlation between secure attachment and identity diffusion. They also found that

achievement and foreclosure were both positively associated with secure attachment styles and

both negatively associated with insecure attachment styles. Moratorium and diffusion were

negatively associated with the secure attachment styles and positively associated with insecure

attachment styles (i.e., dismissing-avoidant, preoccupied, and fearful-avoidant) (Årseth et al.,

2009). These findings brought Årseth and colleagues to the conclusion that secure attachment did

not indicate exploration, as once believed because secure attachment was not positively

associated with moratorium. If the previous hypothesis was true, Årseth and colleagues would

have found moratorium and achievement both positively associated with secure attachment, but

this was not the case. This discrepancy is not without a positive note: in finding that both

achievement and foreclosure were positively correlated with security, they deduced that secure

attachment shares a positive relationship with identity commitment (Årseth et al., 2009). It

23

should be noted that Årseth and colleagues’ correlations were of moderate-to-weak strength at

best, so such results should be taken in perspective.

Despite these weak results, this meta-analysis suggests that identity is, indeed, related to

attachment if we trace this relation back to Erikson’s (1950) model of psychosocial development.

Recall that Erikson (1950) postulated that the first psychosocial virtue, trust, is derived from an

individual’s relationship with his caregivers. Trust is the base on which we form attachment

styles, ergo, romantic attachment is essentially derived from this early form of socialization. As

noted previously, this connection between child and romantic attachment has been made in a

number of studies (e.g., Sroufe, 2005). Romantic attachment is associated with Erikson’s (1950)

intimacy vs. isolation developmental stage; however, in order to get to that stage, Erikson claims

that one must first pass through identity vs. role confusion. Årseth and colleagues’ (2009)

findings support studies and hypotheses (e.g., Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980) that speculate that

having a trusting relationship with parents facilitates the commitment aspect of identity

formation, which carries over into security and commitment in romantic relationships later in

psychosocial development (e.g., Engels et al., 2001; Feeney & Noller, 1990).

Overview, Rationale, and Hypotheses

The Berzonsky (2004) study opened the door to the question of what parental factors

influence identity style, which is a central element of identity formation. Few studies have

examined this relationship between rearing style and identity style and no study that we are

aware of has looked at how the relationship resides in a younger population, namely, high

school-aged students. Of the studies that do look at the relationship between parenting and

identity styles, university students are the population of choice; however, once an individual

24

decides to move out and go to college, parental influence is often minimized. At the high school

age, individuals are usually beginning to flex their autonomy and figure out who and what they

are. Parents, if they do so choose, have a significant impact in their child’s daily activities and

decisions. Although this study does not delve far into various parental dimensions, we believe in

the contributive value of examining the younger population, who are still exposed to their

parents on a frequent basis. Finally, and most importantly, this study seeks to determine if the

effects of parenting style on identity style are mediated by parental attachment. Often times,

these variables are examined two at a time whereas this study aims to investigate all three

together. Given the literature on the relationships between factors relating to identity style (i.e.,

various connections between identity status, parenting style, and attachment), it is surprising that

no study has looked at the relationship between parenting styles, attachment, and identity style.

Parenting Style is Related to Identity Style. We predict that we will find results similar

to Berzonsky (2004)(i.e., the authoritative parenting style will foster the informational and

normative identity processing styles, while inhibiting the diffusive-avoidant style; authoritarian

parents will promote both the normative and the diffusive-avoidant identity styles; and indulgent

parents will cultivate diffusive-avoidant adolescents). Furthermore, this study will utilize a

continuous measure of parental responsiveness and demandingness. Unlike Berzonsky (2004),

this study will be able to see the effects of negligent parenting (low responsiveness/low

demandingness) on identity style. Given the low parental involvement of the negligent parenting

style, we predict that negligent parenting will have a significant negative correlation with the

informational identity style, and a significant positive correlation with the diffusive-avoidant

identity style.

25

H1a: Adolescents with parents who use an authoritative parenting style will have

significantly higher informational identity style scores and significantly lower diffusive-

avoidant identity style scores than those whose parents adhere to one of the other three

parenting styles.

H1b: Adolescents with parents who use an authoritarian or authoritative parenting style

will have significantly higher normative identity style scores than those whose parents

adhere to one of the other two parenting styles.

H1c: Results will be the same for both maternal parenting style and paternal parenting

style.

Parenting Style Predicts Attachment. Quintana and Lapsley (1987) found that

attachment was significantly and negatively correlated with paternal control in a sample of

university students. After reviewing these results, we predict that parenting style will predict the

degree of attachment between parents and adolescents. However, due to our emphasis on the

high school population, and the relative importance of parents during this time period, we believe

that the following correlations will be seen across genders:

H2a: Both maternal and paternal demandingness will significantly and positively predict

attachment.

H2b: Both maternal and paternal responsiveness will significantly and positively predict

attachment.

Attachment Predicts Identity Development. The degree of attachment found in the

parent-child relationship will predict an adolescent’s identity style. Specifically, parental

attachment will be positively associated with the normative and the informational processing

26

styles and negatively associated with the diffusive-avoidant processing style. Additionally,

Berzonsky (2004) showed that identity commitment was negatively correlated with diffusive-

avoidant style. Armed with this knowledge, and branching off of Samuolis and colleagues’

(2010) results which showed that female adolescent identity commitment and exploration benefit

the most from maternal attachment, we predict that there will be a similar strength, negative

correlation between daughter-mother and son-father (i.e., gender-matched) parental attachment

and the diffusive-avoidant identity processing style. Despite Samuolis and colleagues’ findings,

we predict that we will see similar correlations despite gender due to this study’s use of a

younger population and the increased weight of parental influence during this time in an

adolescent’s life.

H3a: Mother and father attachment will significantly and positively predict a normative

identity style.

H3b: Mother and father attachment will significantly and positively predict an

informational identity style.

H3c: Mother and father attachment will significantly and negatively predict a diffusive-

avoidant identity style.

Attachment as a Mediating Factor. Due to the research that suggests that identity style

relates to identity status (e.g., Berzonsky, 1989; Berzonsky & Neimeyer, 1994), that identity

status relates to attachment (e.g., Campbell et al., 1984), and that attachment is correlated with

parenting style (e.g., Kerns et al., 2000; Quintana & Lapsley, 1987), it is clear that the role of

attachment should be looked at with a more critical eye. Specifically, it is posited in this thesis

that parental attachment mediates the relationship between parenting style and identity style. In

27

other words, parenting style influences attachment which in turn influences identity style. Thus,

once we control for the effects of attachment, the relationship between parenting style and

identity style will no longer exist.

H4: The effects of parenting style on identity style are mediated by parental attachment

(see Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Relationship between Parenting and Identity Style is Mediated by Attachment

Parenting

Style

Attachment Identity Style

28

METHOD

Participants

Data from 264 participants was collected from two high schools in the Southeastern

United States. No identifying information was collected from the participants other than the

following demographics. The sample consisted of 155 female and 109 male participants, with

ages ranging between 14 and 19 years (Mage = 16.10, SDage = 1.15). Three of the participants,

however, chose not to disclose an age.

Participants included students from all grade levels. In the sample, 12.5% students (n =

33) were freshmen (9 th

grade), 27.3% students (n = 72) were sophomores (10 th

grade), 35.2%

students (n = 93) were juniors (11 th

grade), and 24.2% students (n = 64) were seniors (12 th

grade). Two participants did not record a grade standing.

The ethnicities of the students were also recorded. 70.5% of the students (n = 186)

reported being White, non-Hispanic; 5.7% of the students (n = 15) were Black/African-

American, non-Hispanic; 8.3% of the students (n = 22) reported to be of a Hispanic/Latino

heritage; 5.3% of the students (n = 14) were of Asian/Pacific Islander descent; 1.1% of the

students (n = 3) reported being American Indian/Alaskan Native; 6.1% of the students (n = 16)

reported being a mixture of any of the aforementioned demographics; and finally, 1.1% of the

students (n = 3) marked “Other” as their ethnicity. Five subjects did not claim an ethnicity.

Presented in Table 2 is family dynamic information, which is meant to display who the

adolescents perceived as their primary caregiver(s). This information varied greatly between the

participants. No students categorized themselves as having “no primary caregiver” (i.e., they

29

were an emancipated minor or of age [18] and lived on their own). Four students chose not to

disclose caregiver information.

Table 2

Participant Family Dynamics

Category n %

Mother and Father 152 57.6

Mother Only 50 18.9

Father Only 5 1.9

Mother and boyfriend/partner/fiancé/step-father 28 10.6

Father and girlfriend/partner/fiancé/step-mother 3 1.1

Mother and father (divorced/separated) engage in co-

parenting from separate households

12 4.5

Another legal guardian (e.g., Grandparent(s),

Aunt/Uncle, Sibling)

8 3.0

Other 2 0.8

Materials

Students were administered a large battery of paper and pencil surveys to complete on a

Scantron bubble sheet. The surveys relevant to the current study are described below:

30

Demographic Questionnaire. A demographic questionnaire, developed for the purposes

of this study, was administered to the students to assess age, grade standing, gender, ethnicity,

and family dynamics (i.e., prominent caregivers).

Identity Style Inventory – 3 (ISI-3; Berzonsky, 1992b). The ISI-3 is a 40 item measure

used to assess three social-cognitive styles related to identity exploration. Participants were

asked to rate how much they agree or disagree with statements associated with how they resolve

personal issues and utilize decision-making strategies using a five-point Likert scale ranging

from ‘Strongly Disagree’ (1) to ‘Strongly Agree’ (5). The three styles measured on the ISI

include: the informational-style (e.g., “I’ve spent a lot of time and talked to a lot of people trying

to develop a set of values that make sense to me.”); the normative-style (e.g., “I’ve more or less

always operated according to the values with which I was brought up.”); and the diffusive-

avoidant style (e.g., “When I have to make a decision, I try to wait as long as possible to see

what will happen.”). Identity commitment is measured using the same Likert scale (e.g., “I know

what I want to do with my future.”). After a two-week period, test-retest reliability (N = 94) was

found to range between .83 and .89 (Berzonsky, 1992b). Reported Cronbach’s alphas were found

to be between .64 and .76 (Berzonsky, 1992b). In this study, Cronbach’s alpha for the

informational subscale was found to be .71, whereas the normative subscale was measured at .65,

and the diffuse-avoidant scale was found to be .72. Convergent validity of the original ISI (which

carries over into the revised scales) was found via the consistency amid the identity style scale

and scales measuring identity status, and other interpersonal/intrapersonal dimensions

(Berzonsky, 1989).

31

Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Parent Subscale) (IPPA; Armsden &

Greenberg, 1987). The IPPA was developed to measure attachment in older adolescents. For

this study, only the parental attachment scale was used and participants were asked to complete

this measure twice to measure maternal and paternal attachment independently. Each item was

reworded to reflect the gender of the parent in question (e.g., “My father accepts me as I am,”

“Sometimes I wish I had a different mother.”). For each of the 28 items assessing parental

attachment, respondents were required to rate the degree to which each item is true for them on a

five-point Likert scale ranging from ‘Never true’ (1) to ‘Always true’ (5). The items in each of

the scales cluster into one of three factors: trust, communication, and alienation. They formed a

composite score by adding the total score from the trust and communication scales and then

subtracting the total score from the alienation scale. Armsden and Greenberg (1987) reported

good internal consistency for the IPPA with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging between .72

and .91 for the sub-scales across both the parent and peer scales. In this study, both the maternal

and paternal attachment subscales were found to have the same, very high Cronbach’s alpha, .91.

The Authoritative Parenting Index (API; Jackson, Henriksen, & Foshee, 1998). The

API is a 16 item measure used to assess parental responsiveness (e.g., “My parents want to hear

about my problems”) and demandingness (e.g., “My parents have rules for me to follow”). For

the purposes of this study, the scale was duplicated to measure maternal and paternal influence

separately. Changes made to the measure were limited to rewording pronouns/nouns to match the

gender in question. Using a four-point Likert scale, participants will be asked to evaluate

statements based on how closely their parent matches the description. Responses range from ‘Not

like her/him’ (1) to ‘Just like her/him’ (4). Reported Cronbach’s alpha (N = 1,715) was found to

32

be .85 for the responsiveness subscale, and .77 for the demandingness subscale (Jackson,

Henriksen, & Foshee, 1998). The continuous nature of the data provided by the API allowed us

some flexibility in scoring. We could leave the data as is, or we could determine cut-off points

for both dimensions to place the parents into a parenting style category. To determine parenting

style, it was decided that a mean score of 2.5 would be used as a cut-off point. That is, if a parent

scored above a mean score of 2.5 on the API’s responsiveness scale and under a mean score of

2.5 on the demandingness scale, that parent was place in the “indulgent” parenting style

category. In the present study, it was found that Cronbach’s alpha was sufficient, with a score of

.88 for the maternal responsiveness subscale, and .80 for the maternal demandingness subscale.

Also obtained from the results of this study, Cronbach’s alpha was shown to be .87 for the

paternal responsiveness subscale and .84 for the paternal demandingness subscale.

Procedure

Students were recruited based upon enrollment in classes at two high schools in central

Florida. University of Central Florida International Review Board-approved parental consent

forms were given to participating teachers to distribute to their students approximately one week

prior to the intended assessment day. Students under the age of 18, who returned a signed

parental consent form, were allowed to participate in the study. Those students above the age of

18 (validated by the date of birth shown on their identifications) were allowed to sign for

themselves. There was no monetary compensation offered to the participants; however, some of

the teachers, out of their own interest, awarded students extra credit for participating in the study.

Students not allowed to participate were given an alternative assignment to obtain extra credit

points. The students were told that the survey is used to measure factors in identity development

33

and the survey packet was completed in a group setting. After obtaining both parental consent

and participant assent, the students completed the survey anonymously, and were not asked for

any identifying information other than their ethnicity, gender, grade standing, and age. A brief

set of directions were read to the students and Collaborative Institution Training Initiative-

certified proctors stood by to give assistance as needed while they completed the survey packet.

34

RESULTS

Preliminary Analyses and Descriptive Statistics

A preliminary set of descriptive statistics was performed for each of the scales utilized

during the present study. The following analyses set out to describe the overall sample scores,

scores by gender, and scores by age.

Parenting Style. In reference to maternal parenting style (N = 245), it was found that

12.1% of the sample reported having a negligent mother (n = 32), 12.9% of the sample reported

information consistent with having an authoritarian mother (n = 34), 14.4% reported having an

indulgent mother (n = 38), and finally, 53.4% of the sample identified their mother as adhering to

an authoritative parenting style (n = 141). The results of a one-way Analysis of Variance

(ANOVA) showed that there were no significant differences between the maternal parenting

style groups in regards to age. Also, the results of a Chi-square analysis showed no gender

differences between parenting style groups as well.

In terms of paternal parenting style (N = 198), it was found that 13.3% of our sample (n =

35) described their father as fitting into the negligent parenting style category, 12.5% of students

(n = 33) reported having an authoritarian father, 23.5% of participants (n = 62) reported having

an indulgent father, and finally, 25.8% (n = 68) identified their father as fitting into the

authoritative category. Results of the ANOVA showed no significant differences between the

paternal parenting style groups in regards to age. Finally, Chi-square results showed no

difference in gender distribution across paternal parenting style groups.

Identity Style. According to the ISI-3, 34.5% (n = 91) of students were of the diffuse-

avoidant identity style, 30.7% (n = 81) were found to be of a normative identity style, and 33.0%

35

(n = 87) of the sample were found to have an informational approach. The results of a one-way

ANOVA showed a significant difference between the identity style groups in regards to age, F(2,

253) = 3.59, p = .029. A Fisher’s LSD post hoc test suggested adolescents adhering to an

informational identity style were significantly older than those of both the normative style (p =

.027) and the diffuse-avoidant style (p = .017). Finally, a Chi-square analysis showed no

significant difference between the identity style groups in regards to gender.

Attachment. Maternal attachment scores (N = 251) ranged between -24.00 and +76.00

(MMOMattach = 34.84, SDMOMattach = 22.52). Results of a Pearson’s product-moment correlation

analysis showed no significant correlation between maternal attachment and participant age.

Finally, a t-test showed no significant difference between genders in their maternal attachment

score. Paternal attachment scores (N = 202) were found to range between -28.00 and +78.00

(MDADattach = 28.86, SDDADattach = 23.73). No significant correlation was found between paternal

attachment and age. The t-test showed a significant difference between the genders and their

paternal attachment scores, t(200) = 2.83, p = .005, with male participants reporting greater

attachment to their fathers than female participants. Furthermore, maternal and paternal

attachment scores showed a significant positive correlation with one another, r(292) = .53, p <

.001. For a full correlation coefficient matrix, see Table 3.

36

Table 3

Intercorrelations of all Continuous Variables

Measure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1. Age --

2. Maternal

Response .03 --

3. Maternal

Demand -.22** .23*** --

4. Paternal

Response .02 .38*** .27*** --

5. Paternal

Demand -.14* .25** .47*** .08 --

6. Maternal

Attach. -.07 .85*** .32*** .35*** .25*** --

7. Paternal

Attach. -.02 .42*** .27*** .82*** .17* .53*** --

8. Info.

Identity .11 .20** -.01 .11 .00 .18** .07 --

9. Norm.

Identity -.08 .29*** .17** .16* .07 .28*** .16* .18** --

10. Diff.

Avoid.

Identity

-.03 -.16* -.12 -.11 -.06 -.16* -.10 -.32*** -.02 --

11. Identity

Comm. .04 .25*** -.15* .26*** .04 .23*** .19** .42*** .56*** -.39***

Note: * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001

37

Hypothesis 1

To determine if parenting style was related to identity style, a Multivariate Analysis of

Variance (MANOVA) was run with participant gender and parenting style as the independent

variables and the identity styles as the dependent variables. Results showed that there was a

significant main effect for maternal parenting style (F[9, 696] = 3.60, p < .001). The

informational identity style, F(3, 232) = 4.62, p = .004, and the normative identity style, F(3,

232) = 6.12, p = .001, were found to be significantly dependent upon maternal parenting style.

A Fisher’s LSD post hoc analysis revealed that those with an authoritative mother had

significantly higher informational identity style scores than those with a negligent (p = .010) or

an authoritarian mother (p = .037). Furthermore, those with an indulgent mother had significantly

higher informational styles than those with a negligent mother (p = .002) or an authoritarian

mother (p = .006). Put more simply, informational style scores of the authoritative and indulgent

mother groups than the negligent and authoritarian mother groups. No significant difference was

found between the authoritative and indulgent more groups or between the negligent and

authoritarian mother groups.

In terms of the normative identity style, those with an authoritative mother had

significantly higher normative scores than those with a negligent mother (p =.001) or an

authoritarian mother (p = .001). Finally, those with an indulgent mother had significantly higher

normative identity style scores than those with a negligent mother (p = .033) or an authoritarian

(p = .048). As was seen with the informational style, no significant difference in normative

identity style frequency was found between indulgent and authoritative mothers, as well as no

significant difference was found between the negligent and authoritarian groups.

38

Hypothesis 2

To determine if parental responsiveness and demandingness could predict their respective

attachment scores while controlling for age and sex, a multiple regression analysis was run with

age and sex entered on Step 1 and maternal responsiveness and demandingness entered on Step 2

with attachment as the dependent variable. This process was repeated for paternal prediction

value. In terms of the maternal regression, results indicated that the overall model was significant

(R 2

= .75, Adjusted R 2

= .75, F[4, 234] = 175.28, p < .001). At Step 2, the change in R-square

was also significant (ΔF[2, 234] = 348.46, p < .001; ΔR 2

= .75) with standardized beta

coefficients reaching significance for maternal responsiveness (β = .83, t = 24.66, p < .001) and

maternal demandingness (β = .10, t = 3.00, p = .003).

When measuring for paternal effects, results showed that again, the overall model was

significant (R 2

= .70, Adjusted R 2

= .70, F[4, 187] = 110.51, p < .001). At Step 2, the change in

R-square was also significant (ΔF[2, 187] = 210.79, p < .001; ΔR 2

= .67) with standardized beta

coefficients reaching significance for paternal responsiveness (β = .81, t = 20.11, p < .001) and

paternal demandingness (β = .11, t = 2.71, p = .007).

A one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed a significant main effect for

maternal parenting style on adolescent attachment score, F(3,238) = 79.94, p < .001. Fisher’s

LSD post hoc analysis showed that adolescents who identified their mother as either negligent or

authoritarian felt significantly less attached than adolescents who identified their mother as

indulgent or authoritative (p < .001). Adolescents who reported their mothers as authoritative

reported significantly higher attachment scores (p < .005) than adolescents who indicated an

indulgent mother. No significant difference was found between the attachment scores of

adolescents perceiving their mother as authoritarian or negligent.

39

An ANOVA also showed a significant main effect for paternal influences on paternal

attachment, F(3, 190) = 55.61, p < .001. A Fisher’s LSD post hoc analysis for the paternal

parenting style showed that adolescents who reported their father as authoritative showed

significantly higher attachment scores than those who claimed that their father was negligent (p =

.001) or authoritarian (p = .002). No significant difference in attachment was seen between

adolescents with negligent and authoritarian, negligent and indulgent, authoritarian and

indulgent, and indulgent and authoritative fathers.

Hypothesis 3

To determine if parental attachment could predict identity style, a multiple regression was

performed for each of the identity styles. Participant age and gender were entered in on Step 1

and maternal and paternal attachment scores were entered on Step 2 with identity style as the

dependent variable for each of the three regressions performed.

No significant results were seen when the informational identity style and the diffuse-

avoidant identity style were the dependent variable; however, when the normative identity style

was the dependent variable, results indicated that the overall model was significant (R 2

= .32,

Adjusted R 2

= .10, F[4, 186] = 5.36, p < .001). At Step 2, the change in R-square was also

significant (ΔF[2, 186] = 9.71, p < .001; ΔR 2

= .09) with standardized beta coefficients reaching

significance for maternal attachment (β = .31, t = 3.79, p < .001). No significant findings were

produced for the informational or diffuse-avoidant identity style. Additionally, no such

significance was found for paternal attachment and any of the identity styles.

40

Hypothesis 4

Due to the prior hypotheses and literature suggesting significant relationships among

parenting, attachment, and identity style development, a mediation regression analysis was

performed to examine if the relationship between parenting style and identity style was one that

was mediated by parental attachment. To test the final hypothesis, that parenting style predicts

identity style development, but this relationship is mediated by parental attachment, a series of

multiple regression analyses were conducted. Holmbeck (1997) suggested that three regressions

are needed to establish mediation. Following Holmbeck’s procedure, in the first regression,

variable A (parental responsiveness/demandingness) must significantly predict variable B

(parental attachment). In the second regression, variable A (parental

responsiveness/demandingness) must significantly predict variable C (identity style). In the third

regression both variables A (parental responsiveness/demandingness) and B (parental

attachment) are entered on the same step to predict variable C (identity style), but to prove

mediation, variable A (parental responsiveness/demandingness) should be less associated with

variable C (identity style) than it was in the second regression equation, when variable B

(parental attachment) is not controlled for. Furthermore, a significant relationship should still be

seen between variable B (parental attachment) and variable C (identity style) in this final

regression. Regressions were only completed for the significant relationships found in the prior

hypotheses (i.e., maternal responsiveness, maternal attachment, and the normative/informational

identity style). For each multiple regression analysis, sex and age were entered on Step 1 with the

appropriate predictor variable entered on Step 2.

As tested in Hypothesis 2, in the first regression, maternal responsiveness and

demandingness were shown to predict maternal attachment, R 2

= .75, Adjusted R 2

= .75, F(4,

41

234) = 175.28, p < .001. At Step 2, the change in R-square was also significant (ΔF[2, 234] =

348.46, p < .001; ΔR 2

= .75) with standardized beta coefficients reaching significance for

maternal responsiveness (β = .83, t = 24.66, p < .001) and maternal demandingness (β = .10, t =

3.00, p = .003).

For the second regression in Holmbeck’s (1997) procedure, only maternal parenting style

was considered in regards to identity style because no significant impact was seen in Hypothesis

1 with the paternal parenting style. Normative identity style was entered as the dependent

variable, results indicated that the overall model was significant (R 2

= .10, Adjusted R 2

= .09,

F[4, 236] = 6.83, p < .001). At Step 2, the change in R-square was also significant (ΔF[2, 236] =

12.90, p < .001; ΔR 2

= .10) with standardized beta coefficients reaching significance for maternal

responsiveness (β = .27, t = 4.27, p < .001). This was not seen in maternal demandingness. When

the informational identity style was entered as the dependent variable, results showed that the

overall model was significant (R 2

= .06, Adjusted R 2

= .05, F[4, 234] = 3.87, p = .005). At Step 2,

the change in R-square was also significant (ΔF[2, 234] = 5.07, p = .007; ΔR 2

= .04) with

standardized beta coefficients reaching significance for maternal responsiveness (β = .21, t =

3.17, p = .002). Again, no such significance was seen with maternal demandingness. For the

maternal impacts on the diffuse-avoidant identity style, although the overall model was

significant, R 2 = .04, Adjusted R

2 = .03, F(4, 234) = 2.62, p = .035, maternal responsiveness and

demandingness failed to significantly predict the diffuse-avoidant identity style in Step 2.

In the final set of regressions to test for mediation, sex and gender were again entered on

Step 1 as controls, and maternal responsiveness and maternal attachment were entered on Step 2.

In the first analysis, no significance was found with the diffuse-avoidant identity style as the

42

dependent variable. In the second analysis, with the informational identity style as the dependent

variable, the overall model was significant, R 2 = .06, Adjusted R

2 = .04, F(4, 233) = 3.55, p =

.008, as well as the change model, ΔF(2, 233) = 4.44, p = .013; ΔR 2

= .04. Although the overall

and change model were significant, neither maternal responsiveness (β = .19, t = 1.49, p = .139),

nor maternal attachment (β = .004, t = .03, p = .978) predicted the informational identity style

after the Step 2 change. Similar results were seen for the normative identity style: an overall

significant model was shown, R 2 = .10, Adjusted R

2 = .08, F(4, 235) = 6.37, p < .001, as well as

a significant change model, ΔF(2, 235) = 11.96, p < .001; ΔR 2

= .09, but maternal responsiveness

(β = .21, t = 1.71, p = .089) and attachment (β = .11, t = .86, p = .39) were no longer significant

when entered together on this last step. This lack of significance of both predictor variables

suggests that the relationship is not mediational in nature.

43

DISCUSSION

Parenting Style is Related to Identity Style

Parents, being our earliest form of socialization, play an integral part in the way that we

learn how to communicate and connect with nonfamily members. Identity, which functions as a

social construct, is hypothesized to be relatively dependent upon the social skills we learn as

children via our parental interactions. The way in which we view the world, take in information,

and synthesize it into our own set of morals and judgments (i.e., the adoption of an identity style)

is contingent upon the way that we interact with others on a day-to-day basis. It was thought that

identity style would be influenced by parenting style due to prior literature such as Berzonsky

(2004), which found that authoritative parenting is related to both normative and informational

identity style in their children, authoritarian parenting is related to normative and diffuse-

avoidant identity styles in their children, and permissive parenting was related to the diffuse-

avoidant identity style in their children. Unlike Berzonsky (2004), the present study utilized a

continuous measure of responsiveness and demandingness, which allowed the negligent

parenting style to be looked at as well.

It was predicted that there would be similar results for both maternal and paternal

parenting style on identity style, but that hypothesis was not supported. Only maternal parenting

style was related to identity style, and it was only significant for the informational and normative

identity styles. This finding could have been due to a number of reasons, but the most practical

explanation could lie in the fact that many more students reported having some kind of maternal

figure than a paternal figure. Parenting style was not found to have a significant impact on the

diffuse-avoidant identity style in any case. The parenting style dimensions assessed during this

44

study, responsiveness and demandingness, were shown to have various significant relationships

with each of the identity styles regardless of parental gender (see Table 3).

It was also predicted that results would be similar to that of Berzonsky (2004) in the

sense that authoritative parenting would be related to adolescent normative and informational

identity styles. This conjecture was partially supported. It was found that authoritative mothers

elicited significantly more informational adolescents than negligent or authoritarian mothers, but

not indulgent mothers. Interestingly, indulgent mothers fostered the informational identity style

more so than negligent or authoritarian mothers, just as authoritative mothers. However, no

significant difference was observed between the indulgent and authoritative parenting style in

terms of informational development.

Such findings directly support the results of Smits and colleagues (2008) and Soenens

and colleagues (2011), who found that maternal support was significantly and positively

correlated with the informational identity style. Parental regulation was also found to be

significantly and positively correlated with the informational identity style in Soenens and

colleagues (2011), but maternal behavioral control was shown to be significantly and negatively

correlated with the informational style in Smits and colleagues (2008). The results of this study

support this prior literature by showing that warmth and support, characteristic of both the

authoritative and indulgent parenting styles, fosters informational development. Regulation (i.e.,

demandingness), characteristic of the authoritative parenting style, was also shown to elicit the

informational style to some extent in the present study.

The prediction that authoritative parenting would lead to more normative individuals was

also partially supported because those with an authoritative mother had significantly higher

45

normative scores than those with an authoritarian or negligent mother. However, this was also

the case for adolescents with an indulgent mother, which was not predicted. This could perhaps

be because of the fact that responsiveness is a characteristic of both authoritative and indulgent

parents. Results showed that maternal responsiveness/demandingness and paternal

responsiveness were significantly and positively correlated with the normative identity style.

Although demandingness is indicative of both the authoritarian and negligent parenting style,

this dimension alone was not related to the normative identity style. Responsiveness may have a

heavier hand in the relationship between parenting and the normative identity style because of

the significance that was found in both the authoritative parenting style (which also has a high

demandingness component, but this is possibly offset by having high responsiveness values as

well) and the indulgent parenting style. Furthermore, responsiveness was a significant predictor

of the normative identity style regardless of parental gender, which adds more support to the

importance of warmth in this relationship.

The normative style’s positive association with parental support is reflected again both by

Smits and colleagues (2008) and Soenens and colleagues (2011), which is consistent with the

findings of this study. Adding more support to these results in regards to the authoritative

mothers, regulation was also shown to be positively correlated with the normative style in

Soenens and colleagues (2011), as was maternal behavioral control in Smits and colleagues

(2008). However, no such significance was found between authoritarian parenting and the

normative identity style during this study.

Although the results of the present study do not mirror the results of Berzonsky (2004),

some themes remain consistent. Authoritative mothering appears to encourage the development

46

of both the informational and the normative identity style. Most interestingly though are the

trends that were seen in regards to the indulgent style. Berzonsky (2004) found that there was a

moderate positive correlation between indulgent mothers and the diffuse-avoidant identity style.

However, responsiveness and support, the main characteristic of indulgent parents, were found to

be significantly and negatively correlated with the diffuse-avoidant identity style in the present

study, as was also found by Smits and colleagues (2008), and Soenens and colleagues (2011).

Furthermore, demandingness, characteristic of the authoritarian parenting style, only maintained

a weak correlation in Smits and colleagues (2008) with the diffuse-avoidant identity style. The

differences between this study’s results and prior research could perhaps be explained by the age

differences in the population assessed. Smits and colleagues (2008), Soenens and colleagues

(2011), and Berzonsky (2004) all relied on retrospective accounts of parenting from university

students. Here, a younger population was observed, where parental influence was happening in

real-time. The retrospective accounts observed in prior literature could have been slightly

inaccurate, as they may be influenced by confabulations or other degenerative effects that occur

to memories with the passage of time. Moreover, the relationship between parent and child could

change in perspective and attitude once the child leaves home. These after effects could have

carried over and contaminated the data collected by the previous research on this topic conducted

with university students. Many factors could have played into why some results of this study

agreed with the prior research whereas others did not. Among these factors, the age gap between

the samples, the living situations, and perhaps even some maturity differences could have

impacted the results and help explain some of the differences between the results of this study

and the results of prior literature.

47

Parenting Style Predicts Attachment

Although identity development becomes more peer-focused than parent-focused in late

adolescence, parents still play a vital role in how adolescents learn how to interact with

nonfamily members (Ávila et al., 2012). It was hypothesized that parenting style would predict

the degree to which an adolescent felt emotional attachment to his/her parent. Specifically, it was

predicted that parental responsiveness (both maternal and paternal) would predict an adolescent’s

level of attachment to the respective parent. This hypothesis was fully supported by our data

analysis: the relationship between attachment and responsiveness is positive and very strong.

This finding coincides with other literature that states that parental acceptance, involvement,

trust, and communication fosters an adolescent’s attachment to their parent (e.g., Gallarin &

Alonso-Arbiol, 2012).

It was also predicted that both maternal and paternal demandingness would predict

attachment. Despite this hypothesis being supported by our adolescent sample, this finding

disagrees with prior literature. Studies such as Quintana and Lapsley (1987) have found that both

maternal and paternal control shared a moderate-strength negative association with attachment.

In addition to Quintana and Lapsley (1987), the control aspect of parenting has also been shown

to share a negative relationship with attachment (Gallarin & Alonso-Arbiol, 2012). As stated

previously, the role of parental responsiveness could be larger than what was previously

assumed. No significant relationships between attachment and parenting style were found when

responsiveness was absent. In authoritativeness, demandingness is present, but so is

responsiveness. This equilibrium between demandingness and responsiveness could be necessary

for demandingness to also predict attachment. As made evident by the lack of significance

48

between both the negligent and the authoritarian parenting style in their predictive value of

attachment, responsiveness is perhaps used to help in the implication of control.

Attachment Predicts Identity Style

The relationship between attachment and identity formation is still unclear within the

field of developmental psychology because previous research has produced conflicting results.

Based on the relationships between romantic attachment and identity status, identity status and

parental attachment, and identity style and identity status, our hypotheses were formed according

to the recurring themes in the literature. It was suspected that parents who provide the most

supportive and loving relationships would produce the most securely attached adolescents (see

Kerns et al., 2000). These secure adolescents would fall into one of the more adaptive identity

statuses, achievement or foreclosure, and would enter such a status using the styles that have

been linked to them in prior studies (e.g., Berzonsky & Neimeyer, 1994).

It was predicted that attachment would be positively related to the informational identity

style, while negatively related to the diffuse-avoidant identity style. Although this hypothesis

was not supported, maternal attachment was found to significantly predict the normative identity

style; however, it seems that paternal attachment had no such predictive value There is little to

no literature on how attachment relates to identity style perhaps due to the reasons cited in Ávila

and colleagues (2012): nonfamily influence becomes more prominent as individuals age. Peers,

rather than parents, become larger factors in identity development in late adolescence.

Nonetheless, Berzonsky and Neimeyer (1994) have linked the normative identity style to

foreclosure. With that in mind, it can be claimed that the findings of the present study support

studies such as Campbell and colleagues (1984), which found that late adolescents in the

49

foreclosed identity status (and by extension, the normative identity style) reported the strongest

emotional attachment to their parents.

Attachment as a Mediating Factor

Because significant relationships were found between parenting and identity style,

parenting and attachment, and attachment and identity style in both the present study and prior

research, it was hypothesized that the relationship between parenting style and identity style was

mediated by perceived parental attachment. Although all of the links had significant support in

our results, when maternal responsiveness and maternal attachment were both entered as

predictive variables for identity style, neither variable remained significant in the final analysis.

Maternal attachment was very close to retaining significance when entered alongside maternal

responsiveness in the final prediction analysis, but it failed nonetheless. Although the analyses of

this study do not suggest that attachment plays a mediating role, there is a silver lining.

Responsiveness and attachment cancelled each other out in the final prediction equation, which

was enough to spark interest pertaining to what the true relationship is between the two variables.

This unexpected occurrence, although not the original intent of the present study, was

impactful enough to devote our efforts. As will be examined in the following sections, certain

statistical anomalies occurred during data analysis that point to measurement error. Attachment

and responsiveness, which are supposedly different entities, are suspected to reflect the same

construct. Furthermore, only adolescent reports were obtained, which could have given an

unclear picture as to the real parenting style taking place at home.

50

Impact and Contribution

Cautionary Remarks about Utilizing the API’s Responsiveness Subscale and the

IPPA together in Future Research. As standalone measures, that is, when they are used

independently of one another, these tools seem to have good validity. It was, however, very odd

that maternal responsiveness and maternal attachment both significantly predicted the normative

identity style independently, but when entered together in the final regression analysis, seemed to

cancel each other out (i.e., both variables lost significance). Operating under the assumption that

parental responsiveness and parental attachment were separate constructs, this finding was odd.

After further attention, the two constructs seem to be remarkably similar, leading us to suspect

multicollinearity.

The first indicator of multicollinearity was the very strong (r > .80), positive correlation

between parental responsiveness and its respective gender’s attachment (i.e., maternal

responsiveness was highly correlated with maternal attachment, as was the case for fathers as

well) (see Table 3). Furthermore, Chen, Ender, Mitchell, and Wells (2003) propose that variables

with high condition indexes (above 30) and low eigenvalues, both of which were seen in the case

of our data, point to significant multicollinearity as well. Such a finding suggests that the two

constructs, responsiveness and attachment, which are supposedly different, do not act so

statistically.

After more scrutiny, the measures seem to have redundant questions (e.g., “My mother

makes me feel better when I am upset” [from the API] and “I tell my mother about my problems

and troubles” [from the IPPA]; “My mother listens to what I have to say” [from the API] and

“My mother respects my feelings” [from the IPPA]). As will be looked at more deeply in the

51

following sections, more research should be conducted examining the construct validity of these

two measures, particularly when being used simultaneously.

Controlling Third Variable Problems. Using the information provided by this study,

researchers should duplicate and expand studies such as Smits and colleagues (2008) and

Soenens and colleagues (2011). Their studies could prove to be quite useful because they

attempted to define and link specific parenting dimensions, such as autonomy support and

behavioral control, to specific facets of identity development. This is a very fruitful avenue due

to the many components of parenting styles that we observe in today’s day and age. Armed with

the knowledge that attachment is largely the result of warmth, which in turn (at least for the

mother), appears to foster a normative identity style, future studies could control for attachment

or warmth to get a clearer picture of which dimensions truly impact adolescent identity

development and which are clouded by confounds.

Family Therapy and Youth Development Programs. One of the greatest impacts of

this research is the implications it has for family-based practice. A goal of this project was to

create a study that could cross the barrier between basic research into the applied research

context. Knowing how parents affect the development of an adolescent’s identity means that we

can better advise those struggling with identity issues as well as how their parents and other

nuclear family members may be able to help them through the process. Furthermore, this study

could help programs aimed at promoting positive youth development by demonstrating how

pivotal it is for parents to not only play an active, but also positive, fostering role in a child’s life.

It is apparent from the results of this study that parenting with less warmth (i.e., parents adhering

to either a negligent or authoritarian parenting style) is related to adolescents who feel

52

significantly less attached. Furthermore, this lack of attachment, particularly when felt with

maternal figures, may stifle the adoption of prominent figures’ morals, values, and codes. This

could perhaps explain and help curb direct disobedience and rebellious behavior. By encouraging

a loving and supportive environment, adolescents would be more likely to follow the beliefs of

their parents, which could provide them with a good foundation to help with the transition into

adult life.

Limitations

Survey Length. The survey packet that was utilized to assess the participants was quite

lengthy, as it proved to be quite cognitively exhausting to our adolescent participant pool. A

consistent piece of feedback that was received from the students was that they tended to lose

focus towards the end of the questionnaire. It was through the various addendums made to the

measures (i.e., duplicating the IPPA [Armsden & Greenberg, 1987] and API [Jackson et al.,

1998] to measure maternal and paternal parental characteristics separately) and adding additional

measures for future analyses that increased the length of the questionnaire exponentially.

It was anticipated, however, that this may happen. To combat this, the survey

questionnaire was designed in such a way that some of the extra measures were placed towards

the end, and the most paramount measures (ISI-3 [Berzonsky, 1992b], IPPA, and API) were

placed at the front. It is hard to control for response bias on the part of the participants, but it is

believed that making less addendums in future research may be more conducive to retaining

focus throughout the entire survey. The main tools of measurement, the ISI-3, API, and IPPA,

were of relatively no issue- the three measures totaled merely 83 items in their initial form.

Realizing that the survey was very lengthy, the data was assed as carefully as possible before any

53

statistical analysis for inconsistent answers and “Christmas-treeing” (i.e., randomly choosing

responses). For example, if a participant indicated in the demographic questionnaire that he

considered both his mother and his father his primary caregivers, but then indicated that he had

no paternal figure later in the survey, his responses were carefully inspected and the data was

destroyed if it was found that the responses were not consistent.

Perspective. In the case of our study, as is the case in much of the previous research

conducted on this subject, only child data was obtained. This presents a significant problem

because the data relies on perceived parental responsiveness and demandingness rather than

actual degrees of responsiveness and demandingness. The data may become contaminated due to

the attitude-lens (whether it be positive or negative) that these adolescent view their parents’

behavior through. Furthermore, some gestures may be misconstrued on the part of the

adolescent, and thus reported inaccurately as such. These biases are hard to control for, however,

certain measures can be taken to ensure the accuracy of obtained parenting style such as

obtaining multiple reports, which will be examined more closely in the following section. This

lack of varying perspectives could also account for why there was much overlap between

responsiveness and attachment.

Areas for Future Research

Construct Validity of Responsiveness and Attachment Measures. Because

multicollinearity was thought to impact the results of this study, future research should consider

examining the relationship between responsiveness and positive attachment more closely.

Although it is logical to presume that those who express warmth and support will elicit

attachment, the two variables have been used and thought of independently of one another in the

54

past. We are unaware of another study that uses both the API (Jackson et al., 1998) and the IPPA

(Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) in tandem, which explains why this problem has not been an

issue for previous research. Now that multicollinearity is suspected, examining the construct

validity of these measures is certainly an area that future research should look in to, particularly

if one would like to replicate the present study.

Shortening the Questionnaire. One method of shortening the questionnaire, as touched

upon above, would be to aggregate the parental data (i.e., measuring parenting characteristics as

one cohesive unit instead of maternal and paternal influence separately). A cornerstone of the

study of identity style is identifying the way that adolescents take in and process this information

(e.g., sorting it in a way that makes sense to them, swallowing it whole as prescribed, or not

using it at all). It is possible that measuring parenting style as a homogeneous entity has the

potential to be just as accurate as separating the influence by gender because the end result of

parenting is the aggregation of standards and morals imposed onto the adolescent by each parent

individually via the formation/utilization of identity styles.

On the other hand, aggregating the parent data would eliminate the subtle differences

observed by how parental gender affects identity development. It should be noted in future

studies that, as seen by the obtained data of this study, one adolescent may experience a myriad

of parenting styles. For example, one may have an indulgent mother and an authoritarian father.

Parenting constellations have been linked to many outcomes such as higher levels of adaptive

emotional adjustment in those adolescents with at least one authoritative parent (McKinney &

Renk, 2008) and lower levels of self-esteem in those individuals who have at least one neglectful

parent (Milevsky, Schlechter, Klem, & Kehl, 2008). It is variables such as these that affect well-

55

being that have been linked with identity style and overall development (Vleioras & Bosma,

2005), so observing parenting style concordance is still important.

Besides combining the parenting data on the API (Jackson et al., 1998) and the IPPA

(Armsden & Greenberg, 1987), or performing a factor analysis in an attempt to shorten the

questionnaires themselves, another method of shortening the questionnaire would be to conduct

the survey in two separate parts on two different days. Perhaps the survey could be set up in such

a way that identity development and additional variables are measured on one day and the

parenting data obtained the next. The biggest issue with splitting up the survey into two different

collection periods would be the practicality. Having adolescents commit to something that will

take them longer than a day to complete will present an issue if not properly compensated, and

having a captive audience for multiple days, such as a classroom, may not be feasible due to

stringent curriculum standards. An advantage of this approach would be that internal validity is

not threatened because the survey material would be measuring two different areas on two

different days. If, for example, the survey was meant to strictly measure aspects of identity, a

threat to internal validity may be present due to the possible disclosure of information between

the groups of students. As many participants in psychological research tend to do, the students

may begin to fall victim to response bias, or try to answer in a socially desirable manner, after

hearing what their friends have to say. In this scenario, the researcher runs the risk of data

contamination. It is advised that the measures as independent as possible for these

aforementioned reasons.

Multiple Reports. As mentioned in the Limitations section, a certain degree of

measurement error is present when using only one source of information. One way of increasing

56

the accuracy of this study would be to examine the parent-child relationship from multiple

vantage points. Although the child’s perspective is of utmost importance, it can be obscured by

perception and other temporal concerns. In future research, studies may want to use a

combination of reports (e.g., parent report, clinical interview, and/or observation) to get a clearer

picture of the kind of parenting occurring in the household.

Researchers should look into measures that can be used to obtain a parent’s perspective

of responsiveness and demandingness behaviors. Like the issue with only obtaining the child

perspective, a parent’s report may be contaminated by biases such as those elicited by social

desirability. When used in combination with the child’s perspective, responses could be averaged

to have an accurate picture of the parenting style being utilized.

Another option available to researchers would be the use of a third-party clinician. This

independent rater would be able to clearly observe and look for specific behaviors that the parent

displays to obtain an unbiased representation of parenting style. Moreover, the clinician can

administer multiple assessments and mediums of data collection including naturalistic

observation and controlled surveys/scenarios.

Finally, if given the opportunity to do so, researchers may want to consider a longitudinal

study of parenting behavior and its impact on identity development. Although the present study

was meant to get an overall picture of how parenting impacts adolescents, it is also correlational

in nature, and by no means indicates a casual relationship. Further, parenting behaviors may

change over time. Such exposure to varying intensities of warmth and control may also influence

the kind of identity style that an adolescent adopts. With the use of longitudinal studies, we may

be able to record these (sometimes not so) subtle changes in parenting style and observe how

57

they may affect their children. Taking baseline measures of psychosocial development at varying

stages of life will add consistency, reliability, and control to future research on the parent-child

relationship and identity development.

Investigating the Father’s Role in Identity Formation. Unlike past research, which has

taken an aggregated approach to examining parental influences on identity, a major strength of

this study was its ability to tease out the specific roles each parental figure plays in identity style

formation. One very surprising outcome of the present study was the seemingly minor role that

fathers play in adolescent identity development. While these results support the notion that

identity style is dependent upon parenting style, this study has demonstrated that this was only in

the case of mothers. Furthermore, it was shown that paternal attachment, demandingness, and

responsiveness do not significantly predict any of the identity styles. These results can be

attributed to a number of possible confounds; however, one fact remains clear: paternal

influences on identity formation should be looked at with a closer eye in future research by

focusing efforts on identifying specific variables that may keep fathers from sharing significant

relationships with identity constructs.

58

APPENDIX A: IRB APPROVAL OF HUMAN RESEARCH

59

60

APPENDIX B: INFORMED PARENTAL CONSENT

61

Identity and Attachment

Informed Consent

Primary Investigator: Steven L. Berman, Ph.D.

Co-Investigator: Kaylin A. Ratner

Investigational Site(s): Seabreeze High School

Flagler Palm Coast High School

How to Return this Consent Form: Please sign this form and have your child return it if you give

permission for your child to participate in this study.

Introduction: Researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF) study many topics. To do

this we need the help of people who agree to take part in a research study. You are being asked

to allow your child to take part in a research study which will include about 200 people from two

different high schools in the Central Florida area. Your child is being invited to take part in this

research study because he or she is a high school student.

The person doing this research is Kaylin Ratner of the University of Central Florida Psychology

Department. Because the researcher is an undergraduate student, she is being guided by Dr.

Steven Berman, a UCF faculty supervisor in Psychology Department.

What you should know about a research study:

 Someone will explain this research study to you.

 A research study is something you volunteer for.

 Whether or not you take part is up to you.

 You should allow your child to take part in this study only because you want to.

 You can choose not to take part in the research study.

 You can agree to take part now and later change your mind.

 Whatever you decide will not be held against you or your child.

 Feel free to ask all the questions you want before you decide.

Purpose of the research study: The purpose of this study is to explore the association between

young people’s sense of self and their interpersonal relationships. The results of the study may be

used to help develop intervention programs aimed at helping teenagers who are struggling with

62

identity issues. These results may not directly help your child today, but may benefit future

students.

What your child will be asked to do in the study: The participating students will be asked to

complete a survey containing 220 statements (for example, “I have definitely decided on a

career”) to which they will respond by rating how much they agree with each statement on a 1

(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) scale. The survey is anonymous; students will not be

asked to write their names on the questionnaires. Results will only be reported in the form of

group data. Participation or nonparticipation in this study will not affect the student’s grades or

placement in any programs. The student does not have to answer any questions he/she wishes not

to answer.

Location: The researcher will go to the participant at his or her school.

Time required: The survey will take approximately 40-minutes to complete and will be

administered in the classroom during class time. Students not participating will be allowed to

study or read in lieu of completing the survey.

Risks: There are no expected risks for taking part in this study. There are no reasonably

foreseeable risks or discomforts involved in taking part in this study.

Benefits: Your child will not benefit directly for taking part in this research, besides learning

more about how research is conducted.

Compensation or payment: There is no compensation, payment, or extra credit for your child’s

part in this study.

Confidentiality: We will limit the personal data collected in this study. Efforts will be made to

limit your child’s personal information to people who have a need to review this information. We

cannot promise complete secrecy. Organizations that may inspect and copy your information

include the IRB and other representatives of UCF. The survey is anonymous; students will not be

asked to write their names on the questionnaires. Results will only be reported in the form of

group data.

Study contact for questions about the study or to report a problem: If you have questions,

concerns, complaints, or think the research has hurt your child, contact Kaylin Ratner,

Undergraduate Honors in the Major Student, Clinical Psychology Program,

[email protected] or Dr. Berman, Faculty Supervisor, Psychology Department, at (386)

506-4049 or [email protected].

IRB contact about you and your child’s rights in the study or to report a complaint:

Research at the University of Central Florida involving human participants is carried out under

the oversight of the Institutional Review Board (UCF IRB). This research has been reviewed and

approved by the IRB. For information about the rights of people who take part in research, please

63

contact: Institutional Review Board, University of Central Florida, Office of Research &

Commercialization, 12201 Research Parkway, Suite 501, Orlando, FL 32826-3246 or by

telephone at (407) 823-2901. You may also talk to them for any of the following:

 Your questions, concerns, or complaints are not being answered by the research team.

 You cannot reach the research team.

 You want to talk to someone besides the research team.

 You want to get information or provide input about this research.

64

APPENDIX C: FLAGLER PALM COAST HIGH SCHOOL (FLAGLER

COUNTY, FL) PRINCIPAL APPROVAL

65

66

APPENDIX D: SEABREEZE HIGH SCHOOL (VOLUSIA COUNTY, FL)

PRINCIPAL APPROVAL

67

68

APPENDIX E: SURVEY

69

BACKGROUND QUESTIONNAIRE

Please use the Bubble Sheet provided to fill in your background information as follows.

NAME: Leave blank.

SEX: Select MALE or FEMALE

GRADE: Bubble in your grade in school using the following codes:

(9)=Freshman

(10)=Sophomore

(11)=Junior

(12)=Senior

BIRTHDATE: Leave Blank

IDENTIFICATION NO.:

AB Mark your Age under columns labeled “A” & “B”.

C In the third column labeled “C”, mark the ethnic/racial identifier that best describes you:

(0)= White, non-Hispanic

(1)= Black, non-Hispanic

(2)= Hispanic

(3)= Asian or Pacific Islander

(4)= Native American or Alaskan Native

(5)= Mixed ethnicity

(6)= Other

D In the fourth column labeled “D”, please select the option that best describes who your primary

caregiver(s) is (are):

(0)= My mother and father

(1)= My mother

(2)= My father

(3)= My mother and her boyfriend/partner/fiancé/my step-father

(4)= My father and his girlfriend/partner/fiancé/my step-mother

(5)= My mother and father (divorced/separated) engage in co-parenting from separate households

(6)= Another legal guardian (e.g., Grandparent(s), Aunt/Uncle, Sibling)

(7)= None. I am an emancipated minor OR I am of age (18) and live on my own

(8)= Other

Thank you. Now please turn the bubble sheet over and go on to the next page of this survey.

70

ISI - Please decide how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements, using the following

scale. Please bubble in the appropriate letter on the enclosed answer sheet.

A B C D E

Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Neutral Slightly

Agree

Strongly

Agree

1. Regarding religious beliefs, I know basically what I believe and don’t believe.

2. I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about what I should do with my life.

3. I’m not really sure what I’m doing in school; I guess things will work themselves out.

4. I’ve more or less always operated according to the values with which I was brought up.

5. I’ve spent a good deal of time reading and talking to others about religious beliefs.

6. When I discuss an issue with someone, I try to assume his or her point of view and see the problem from his or

her perspective.

7. I know what I want to do with my future.

8. It doesn’t pay off to worry about values in advance; I decide things as they happen.

9. I’m not really sure what I believe about religion.

10. I’ve always had purpose in my life; I was brought up to know what to strive for.

11. I’m not sure which values I really hold.

12. I have some consistent political views; I have a definite stand on where the government and country should be

headed.

13. Many times, by not concerning myself with personal problems, they work themselves out.

14. I’m not sure what I want to do with my future.

15. I really know what I want to do with my life, and I won’t change my mind.

16. I’ve spent a lot of time reading and trying to make sense out of political views.

17. I’m not really thinking about my future now; it’s still a long way off.

18. I’ve spent a lot of time and talked to a lot of people trying to develop a set of values that make sense to me.

19. Regarding religion, I’ve always known what I believe and don’t believe. I never really had any serious doubts.

20. I’m not sure what I want to do when I get out of school.

21. I’ve known since high school what I’m going to do with my life.

22. I have a definite set of values that I use to make personal decisions.

23. I think it’s better to have a firm set of beliefs than to be open-minded.

24. When I have to make a decision, I try to wait as long as possible to see what will happen.

25. When I have a personal problem, I try to analyze the situation in order to understand it.

26. I find that it’s best to seek out advice from professionals (e.g., clergy, doctors, lawyers) when I have problems.

27. It’s best for me not to take life too seriously; I just try to enjoy it.

28. I think it’s better to have fixed values than to consider alternative value systems.

29. I try not to think about or deal with personal problems for as long as I can.

30. I find that personal problems often turn out to be interesting challenges.

31. I try to avoid personal situations that will require me to think a lot and deal with them on my own.

32. Once I know the correct way to handle a problem, I prefer to stick with it.

33. When I have to make a decision, I like to spend a lot of time thinking about my options.

34. I prefer to deal with situations where I can rely on social norms and standards.

35. I like to have the responsibility for handling problems in my life that require me to think on my own.

36. Sometimes I refuse to believe a problem will happen, and thinks just work themselves out.

37. When making important decisions, I like to have as much information as possible.

38. When I know a situation is going to cause me stress, I try to avoid it.

39. To live a complete life, I think people need to get emotionally involved and commit themselves to specific

values and ideals.

40. I find it’s best for me to rely on the advice of close friends or relatives when I have a problem.

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IDS - To what degree have you recently been upset, distressed, or worried over any of the following issues in your

life? (Please select the appropriate response, using the following scale).

A B C D E

None At

All

Mildly Moderately Severely

Very

Severely

41. Long term goals? (e.g., finding a good job, being in a romantic relationship, etc.)

42. Career choice? (e.g., deciding on a trade or profession, etc.)

43. Friendships? (e.g., experiencing a loss of friends, change in friends, etc.)

44. Sexual orientation and behavior? (e.g., feeling confused about sexual preferences, intensity of sexual needs,

etc.)

45. Religion? (e.g., stopped believing, changed your belief in God/religion, etc.)

46. Values or beliefs? (e.g., feeling confused about what is right or wrong, etc.)

47. Group loyalties? (e.g., belonging to a club, school group, gang, etc.)

48. Please rate your overall level of discomfort (how bad they made you feel) about all the above issues as a whole.

49. Please rate how much uncertainty over these issues as a whole has interfered with your life (for example,

stopped you from doing things you wanted to do, or being happy)

50. How long (if at all) have you felt upset, distressed, or worried over these issues as a whole? (Use rating scale

below)

Never or less than a

month

1 to 3 months 3 to 6 months 6 to 12 months More than 12

months

A B C D E

BSI 18 - Below is a list of problems people sometimes have. Read each one carefully and mark the option that best

describes HOW MUCH THAT PROBLEM HAS DISTRESSED OR BOTHERED YOU DURING THE PAST

7 DAYS INCLUDING TODAY.

A B C D E

Not at all A little bit Moderately Quite a bit Extremely

51. Faintness or dizziness

52. Feeling no interest in things

53. Nervousness or shakiness inside

54. Pains in heart or chest

55. Feeling lonely

56. Feeling tense or keyed up

57. Nausea or upset stomach

58. Feeling blue

59. Suddenly scared for no reason

60. Trouble getting your breath

61. Feelings of worthlessness

62. Spells of terror or panic

63. Numbness or tingling in parts of your body

64. Feeling hopeless about the future

65. Feeling so restless you couldn’t sit still

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A B C D E

Not at all A little bit Moderately Quite a bit Extremely

66. Feeling weak in parts of your body

67. Thoughts of ending your life

68. Feeling fearful

IPPA Maternal - The following statements describe things you may either agree with or disagree with. In this

section, please answer in terms of your MOTHER’S BEHAVIOR ONLY. If your parents are domestic partners,

please assign one parent to be the “mother” and the other parent to be the “father” regardless of gender. Please keep

this designation consistent in all gender-specific items throughout the survey packet.

69. Choose one:

A. My mother is deceased, or I have little-to-no contact with her. (skip questions 70-97)

B. I have a mother figure in my life. (continue to answer questions 70-97)

In the bubble sheet provided, please mark the letter that shows how much you believe a statement is true about your

mother using the following scale:

A

Never

True

B

Rarely

True

C

Sometimes

True

D

Often

True

E

Always

True

70. My mother respects my feelings.

71. I feel that my mother is successful as a parent.

72. I wish I had a different mother.

73. My mother accepts me as I am.

74. I have to rely on myself when I have a problem to solve.

75. I like to get my mother’s point of view on things that I am concerned about.

76. I feel it’s no use letting my feelings show.

77. My mother can sense when I’m upset about something.

78. Talking over my problems with my mother makes me feel ashamed or foolish.

79. My mother expects too much from me.

80. I get upset easily at home.

81. I get upset a lot more than my mother knows about.

82. When we discuss things, my mother considers my point of view.

83. My mother trusts my judgment.

84. My mother has her own problems, so I don’t bother her with mine.

85. My mother helps me to understand myself better.

86. I tell my mother about my problems and troubles.

87. I feel angry with my mother.

88. I don’t get much attention at home.

89. My mother encourages me to talk about my difficulties.

90. My mother understands me.

91. I don’t know whom I can depend on these days.

92. When I am angry about something, my mother tries to be understanding.

93. I trust my mother.

94. My mother doesn’t understand what I’m going through these days.

95. I can count on my mother when I need to get something off my chest.

96. I feel that no one understands me.

97. If my mother knows something is bothering me, she asks me about it.

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IPPA Paternal - The following statements describe things you may either agree with or disagree with. In this

section, please answer in terms of your FATHER’S BEHAVIOR ONLY. If your parents are domestic partners,

please assign one parent to be the “mother” and the other parent to be the “father” regardless of gender. Please keep

this designation consistent in all gender-specific items throughout the survey packet.

98. Choose one:

A. My father is deceased, or I have little-to-no contact with him. (skip questions 99-126)

B. I have a father figure in my life. (continue to answer questions 99-126)

In the bubble sheet provided, please mark the letter that shows how much you believe a statement is true about your

father using the following scale:

A

Never

True

B

Rarely

True

C

Sometimes

True

D

Often

True

E

Always

True

99. My father respects my feelings.

100. I feel that my father is successful as a parent.

101. I wish I had a different father.

102. My father accepts me as I am.

103. I have to rely on myself when I have a problem to solve.

104. I like to get my father’s point of view on things that I am concerned about.

105. I feel it’s no use letting my feelings show.

106. My father can sense when I’m upset about something.

107. Talking over my problems with my father makes me feel ashamed or foolish.

108. My father expects too much from me.

109. I get upset easily at home.

110. I get upset a lot more than my father knows about.

111. When we discuss things, my father considers my point of view.

112. My father trusts my judgment.

113. My father has his own problems, so I don’t bother him with mine.

114. My father helps me to understand myself better.

115. I tell my father about my problems and troubles.

116. I feel angry with my father.

117. I don’t get much attention at home.

118. My father encourages me to talk about my difficulties.

119. My father understands me.

120. I don’t know whom I can depend on these days.

121. When I am angry about something, my father tries to be understanding.

122. I trust my father.

123. My father doesn’t understand what I’m going through these days.

124. I can count on my father when I need to get something off my chest.

125. I feel that no one understands me.

126. If my father knows something is bothering me, he asks me about it.

API Maternal - The following is a collection of common parental characteristics as indicated by other students.

Please use the following scale to indicate how closely your parents align with each statement. In this section, please

answer in terms of your MOTHER’S BEHAVIOR ONLY. If your parents are domestic partners, please assign

one parent to be the “mother” and the other parent to be the “father” regardless of gender. Please keep this

designation consistent in all gender-specific items throughout the survey packet.

74

127. Choose one:

A. My mother is deceased, or I have little-to-no contact with her. (skip questions 128-143)

B. I have a mother figure in my life. (continue to answer questions 128-143)

In the bubble sheet provided, please mark the letter that shows how closely the statement matches your mother using

the following scale:

A

Not like her

B

Somewhat like her

C

Mostly like her

D

Just like her

128. My mother is always telling me what to do.

129. My mother makes rules without asking me what I think.

130. My mother makes me feel better when I am upset.

131. My mother is too busy to talk to me.

132. My mother listens to what I have to say.

133. My mother likes me just the way I am.

134. My mother tells me when I do a good job on things.

135. My mother wants to hear about my problems.

136. My mother is pleased with how I behave.

137. My mother has rules that I have to follow.

138. My mother tells me times [when] I must come home.

139. My mother makes sure I tell her where I am going.

140. My mother makes sure I go to bed on time.

141. My mother asks me what I do with my friends.

142. My mother knows where I am after school.

143. My mother checks to see if I do my homework.

API Paternal - The following is a collection of common parental characteristics as indicated by other students.

Please use the following scale to indicate how closely your parents align with each statement. In this section, please

answer in terms of your FATHER’S BEHAVIOR ONLY. If your parents are domestic partners, please assign

one parent to be the “mother” and the other parent to be the “father” regardless of gender. Please keep this

designation consistent in all gender-specific items throughout the survey packet.

144. Choose one:

A. My father is deceased, or I have little-to-no contact with him. (skip questions 145-160)

B. I have a father figure in my life. (continue to answer questions 145-160)

In the bubble sheet provided, please mark the letter that shows how closely the statement matches your father using

the following scale:

A

Not like him

B

Somewhat like him

C

Mostly like him

D

Just like him

145. My father is always telling me what to do.

146. My father makes rules without asking me what I think.

147. My father makes me feel better when I am upset.

148. My father is too busy to talk to me.

149. My father listens to what I have to say.

150. My father likes me just the way I am.

151. My father tells me when I do a good job on things.

152. My father wants to hear about my problems.

75

A

Not like him

B

Somewhat like him

C

Mostly like him

D

Just like him

153. My father is pleased with how I behave.

154. My father has rules that I have to follow.

155. My father tells me times [when] I must come home.

156. My father makes sure I tell him where I am going.

157. My father makes sure I go to bed on time.

158. My father asks me what I do with my friends.

159. My father knows where I am after school.

160. My father checks to see if I do my homework.

ECR - The following statements concern how you feel in romantic relationships. We are interested in how you

generally experience relationships, not just in what is happening in a current relationship. Respond to each

statement by indicating how much you agree or disagree with it. Please write your rating on the Bubble Sheet, using

the following rating scale:

A B C D E

Strongly

Disagree

Slightly

Disagree

Neutral Slightly

Agree

Strongly

Agree

161. I prefer not to show how I feel deep down.

162. I worry about being abandoned.

163. I am very comfortable being close to romantic partners.

164. I worry a lot about my relationships.

165. Just when my partner starts to get close to me I find myself pulling away.

166. I worry that romantic partners won’t care about me as much as I care about them.

167. I get uncomfortable when a romantic partner wants to be very close.

168. I worry a fair amount about losing my partner.

169. I don’t feel comfortable opening up to romantic partners.

170. I often wish that my partner’s feelings for me were as strong as my feelings for him/her.

171. I want to get close to my partner, but I keep pulling back.

172. I often want to merge completely with romantic partners, and this sometimes scares them away.

173. I am nervous when partners get too close to me.

174. I worry about being alone.

175. I feel comfortable sharing my private thoughts and feelings with my partner.

176. My desire to be very close sometimes scares people away.

177. I try to avoid getting too close to my partner.

178. I need a lot of reassurance that I am loved by my partner.

179. I find it relatively easy to get close to my partner.

180. Sometimes I feel that I force my partners to show more feeling, more commitment.

181. I find it difficult to allow myself to depend on romantic partners.

182. I do not often worry about being abandoned.

183. I prefer not to be too close to romantic partners.

184. If I can’t get my partner to show interest in me, I get upset or angry.

185. I tell my partner just about everything.

186. I find that my partner(s) don’t want to get as close as I would like.

187. I usually discuss my problems and concerns with my partner.

188. When I’m not involved in a relationship, I feel somewhat anxious and insecure.

189. I feel comfortable depending on romantic partners.

76

A B C D E

Strongly

Disagree

Slightly

Disagree

Neutral Slightly

Agree

Strongly

Agree

190. I get frustrated when my partner is not around as much as I would like.

191. I don’t mind asking romantic partners for comfort, advice, or help.

192. I get frustrated if romantic partners are not available when I need them.

193. It helps to turn to my romantic partner in times of need.

194. When romantic partners disapprove of me, I feel really bad about myself.

195. I turn to my partner for many things, including comfort and reassurance.

196. I resent it when my partner spends time away from me.

EPSI - The following statements describe things you may either agree with or disagree with. In the bubble sheet

provided, please mark the letter that shows how much you agree or disagree that a statement is true of you or not

true of you.

A

Never

True

B

Rarely

True

C

Sometimes

True

D

Often

True

E

Always

True

197. I change my opinion of myself a lot.

198. I've got a clear idea of what I want to be.

199. I feel mixed up.

200. The important things in life are clear to me.

201. I've got it together.

202. I know what kind of person I am.

203. I can't decide what I want to do with my life.

204. I have a strong sense of what it means to be male/female.

205. I like myself and am proud of what I stand for.

206. I don't really know who I am.

207. I work keep up a certain image when I'm with people.

208. I don't really feel involved.

209. I get embarrassed when someone begins to tell me personal things.

210. I'm ready to get involved with a special person.

211. I'm warm and friendly.

212. It is important to be completely open with my friends.

213. I keep what I really think and feel to myself.

214. I think it's crazy to get too involved with people.

215. I care deeply for others.

216. I'm basically a loner.

217. I have a boyfriend/girlfriend who is a close friend of mine as well as a close romantic partner.

218. I prefer not to show too much of myself to others.

219. Being alone with other people makes me feel uncomfortable.

220. I find it easy to make close friends.

77

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