Lecture 8 - Attachments to Parents and Peers Flashcards
What aspects of development do peers contribute to?
- Identity development (fashion, likes/dislikes, etc)
- Use of legal/illegal substances
- Large influence if teens lack parental support
What is the goal of teens during adolescence, in terms of attachment with their parents (McElhaney et al., 2009)?
To achieve a balance between maintaining close familty ties while gaining the independence to expand their social network to include attachments with peers.
How does attachment security aid social development during adolescence (McElhaney et al., 2009)?
Attachment security facilitates social competence, autonomy development (independence), and development of the self.
How do adolescents’ views change about their parents during their teens?
Teens start to de-idolise their parents during adolescence, with increased cognitive development. This may lead to more disagreements etc.
What did Ainsworth (1989) theorise about why the relationships of adolescents are re-organised?
The reorganisation of relationships with parents and peers is motivated by a reorganisation of behavioural systems that occurs with the onset of puberty.
What are the 5 behavioural systems that Ainsworth (1989) referred to in her theory of adolescent development, and what do they each refer to?
Attachment - Maintenance of proximity and contact with a certain figure.
Caregiving - Comfort when others are perceived to be in danger.
Sexual Mating
Affiliative - survival-promoting tendency to be sociable with others
Exploratory - survival advantage by providing important information about the environment.
How did Hazan and Zeifman (2008) measure attachment function from parents to peers, and what were the attachment functions that they measured?
Interviewed 6 to 17 year olds and asked them questions about who they would most want to be with in certain situations, e.g. if they were to go on a long trip away etc.
Proximity seeking
Safe Haven
Secure Base
Separation distress
What did Hazan and Zeifman (2008) find about attachments in adolescents?
Most adolescents responded:
Peers for proximity seeking
Peers for safe haven (support), only for later teens.
Parents for secure base
Parents for separation distress
According to Hazan and Zeifman (2008), in which years did adolescents develop full blown attachments with someone other than their parent(s), and what type of relationship did this tend to be?
15-17, tended to be romantic attachments.
What did Laible et al., (2000) find about the effect of parent vs peer attachments?
Found that at age 16, peer attachments begin to overcome parental attachments as more influential.
Even when parental attachment is poor or non-existent, strng peer attachments can lead to less depression, aggression and more sympathy.
How did Prior and Glaser (2006) define the attachment hierarchy?
An organised set of preferences for persons whom the individual seeks out when the attachment system is activated.
What does the idea of monotrophy refer to?
The idea that infants have one principle/preferred attachment figure (that is at the top of the attachment hierarchy), but can still have many other attachment figures that they can find support from.
What did Kozak et al., (2007) find about the content of the attachment hierarchy?
In adolescence and early childhood, the hierarchy is as follows:
- romantic partner, if one exists (primary)
- mother, if younger/no romantic partner (primary)
- father less likely to be primary and less likely to be in the attachment hierarchy at all.
- other figures, such as best friends, siblings and other family members.
What did Kozak et al., (2007) show about the potential problems with reorganisation of the attachment hierarchy?
If reorganisation occurs too early or too late, adjustment difficulties might be experienced.
Too early:
- difficult relationships with parents
- affiliates with deviant peers
- ecological factors (e.g. lower performing students being grouped together)
- timing of puberty (early development leads to interaction with older peers)
Too late:
- lack of social ability/competence
What did Kozak (2010) find about the effect of early attachment reorganisation?
Adolescents were more likely to experience internalising and externalising difficulties if their attachment with a peer was their primary, secondary or tertiary attachment.
