Stories of parents and self

Relations to adolescent attachment

Bibliographic Data

ID9795697
AuthorsWidaad Zaman (University of Central Florida, corresponding author), Robyn Fivush (0000-0003-3526-1588)
Year2013
Volume49
Issue11
Pages2047-2056
Publication date2013-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/a0032023
OpenAlexW2333204726
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited6

How individuals construct narratives involving attachment figures (e.g., parents) should reflect their representation of those individuals as either comforting or unsupportive (Bowlby, 1969). Similarly, how individuals talk about parents' childhood experiences may also reflect their attachment representation. Sixty-five 13-to 16-year-old middle-class, diverse adolescents narrated 2 stories each from mother's and father's childhood, and 2 positive and negative personal experiences, all coded for coherence and emotions. As a measure of attachment, adolescents completed the Attachment Script Assessment, coded for attachment security (H. S. Waters & Rodrigues-Doolabh, 2001). Pearson's correlations indicate secure adolescents told coherent and emotionally expressive narratives about mothers' childhood but not fathers'; narratives about mothers' experiences appear important for adolescents' attachment. Secure adolescents also told thematically coherent negative but not positive personal narratives. Thus, secure adolescents do not tell all narratives coherently and emotionally; in this study, the relation between narratives and attachment is specific to intergenerational narratives. © 2013 American Psychological Association

Attachment theory · Construct (python library · Developmental psychology · Narrative · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Family Support in Illness · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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