1. Negotiating Adolescence: The Importance of Close Relationships for Dismissing Adolescents J. Claire Stephenson, Nell N. Manning, Dave E. Szwedo & Joseph P. Allen The University of Virginia We would like to thank the National Institute of Mental Health for funding awarded to Joseph P. Allen, Principal Investigator, (R01-MH58066) for the conduct and write-up of this study.
Low Dismissing
Introduction
Measures
The Adult Attachment Interview (Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985) was administered to target adolescents at age 14. This semi-structured interview probes individuals’ memories about their childhood experiences with primary caregivers. The Attachment Q-sort procedure (Kobak et al., 1993) was used to determine a continuous dismissing attachment score for each adolescent.
The target adolescents completed the Childhood Report of Parenting Behavior (Schaefer, 1965) at ages 14 and 17. This study uses the maternal acceptance vs. rejection scale to measure the adolescent’s perception of his or her mother as being affectionate and emotionally supportive, or neglecting and rejecting. This scale included items such as:
My mother figure is a person who. . .
Is able to make me feel better when I am upset
Gives me a lot of care and attention
Believes in showing her love for me
The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Armsden & Greenberg, 1989) was completed by a close peer of the target adolescent when they were 17. This study uses the “total attachment” scale as a measure of friendship quality which includes items such as:
My friend can tell when I’m upset about something
I feel he/she is a good friend
I trust my friend
I can count on him/her when I need to get something off my chest
Table 1. Hierarchical regression predicting adolescent’s report of maternal acceptance at age 17
β Entry β Final ΔR Total R2
Step 1. Gender *
Income
Statistics from step * *
Step 2. Adolescent’s report of maternal *** *** *** ***
acceptance (age 14)
Step 3. Adolescent’s dismissing score (age 14) * * ***
Step 4. Close peer’s report of friendship quality ** ** ** ***
with adolescent (age 17)
Step 5. Interaction: Dismissing score X * * * ***
Close peer’s report of friendship quality
Note. *** p < **p < *p < 0.05
Background:
Attachment security in adolescence is a significant predictor of many positive psychosocial outcomes ranging from higher grades in school to the ability to form intimate peer relationships. While it is valuable to realize the potential buffering effect that attachment security provides during adolescence, it is perhaps even more important to better understand the risk factors faced by adolescents with an insecure attachment orientation. These adolescents may be more susceptible to negative outcomes; therefore, it is essential to explore potential protective factors that might better prepare insecure individuals for the challenges of adolescence. The current study aims to do so by examining dismissing adolescents and the interplay between their relationships with their mother and best friend—arguably the two most salient relationships during adolescence.
A fundamental task of adolescence is a renegotiation of the maternal relationship that allows adolescents to establish their own autonomy while remaining connected to their mother. Dismissing adolescents have a model of caregivers as unavailable and tend to remain detached from close relationships; therefore, they face an added difficulty when it comes to maintaining relatedness with their mother. This time of transition poses a significant challenge for these individuals who enter adolescence less oriented towards emotional intimacy in relationships. However, this period of renegotiating relationships also presents a critical opportunity for positive growth. Peer relationships become increasingly salient during this time, providing dismissing adolescents with the chance to establish new significant relationships that can provide a source of support as well as a positive perspective on close relationships.
Research Questions:
Will dismissing adolescents perceive their mother as more rejecting during the transition from early to late adolescence?
Will the presence of a positive relationship with a peer make a difference for the way dismissing adolescents view their relationship with their mother?
Low Dismissing
High Dismissing
Results
Adolescents who were more dismissing at age 14 reported that their mothers were less accepting at age 17, even after accounting for adolescent report of maternal acceptance at age 14
This result is consistent with the expectation that dismissing individuals struggle to maintain relatedness with their mother during adolescence
Adolescents who had a dependable relationship with a peer at age 17 concurrently reported that they felt more accepted by their mother
The interaction depicted in Figure 1 reveals that the relationship between a close friendship and perception of maternal acceptance was especially strong for highly dismissing adolescents. Adolescents who were highly dismissing, but had a quality close friendship, reported that their mothers were more accepting. Conversely, highly dismissing adolescents who lacked a close friendship saw their mothers as more rejecting
Evidently, the presence of a quality close friendship in adolescence can have a positive impact on a dismissing adolescent’s feelings about his or her relationship with his or her mother
Figure 1. The interaction between adolescent’s dismissing attachment score at age 14 and their close peer’s report of friendship quality at age 17
Conclusions
Method
These results suggest the possibility that establishing a supportive relationship with a peer provides dismissing adolescents with an opportunity to reevaluate their relationship with their mother in a constructive way. Perhaps through learning how to navigate a successful relationship with a close peer, these adolescents are able to apply this knowledge to improve their relationship with their mother. Alternatively, it may not be the mother-teen relationship that has changed, but instead the adolescent’s perception of it. Given that their need for support and acceptance is being fulfilled through a close friendship, these adolescents may be in a position to make a more positive interpretation of their relationship with their mother.
Participants
Adolescents and their close friends were assessed at ages 14 (mean=
14.27, sd=.77) and 17 (mean=17.32, sd=.88)
Target adolescent demographics
97 females and 87 males
Socio-economically diverse (median family income= $40-60,000/yr)
31% African American; 69% Caucasian