Self-Esteem Moderates the Relationship Between Secure Attachment and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Preadolescence

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined the interactive effects of secure attachment and self-esteem on change in internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of preadolescents. 407 youth (M_age = 11.1 years) completed measures of self-esteem, secure attachment style, and peer nomination inventories tapping internalizing and externalizing problems at the beginning of the fourth and fifth grades. Results suggest that internalizing and externalizing problems may be reduced for securely attached youth with high self-esteem. Implications for future research are examined, along with a discussion on clinical applications of studies involving interaction effects.

Keywords

Secure attachment self-esteem internalizing problems externalizing problems preadolescence

Scholars have long demonstrated the significance of children's early experiences with their caregivers on ensuing behavior and socio-emotional adjustment (Freud, 1940/1949; Suttie, 1952). Bowlby (1969) and Ainsworth (1979) highlighted the importance of mother–infant attachment on later functioning and advanced attachment theory to identify secure and insecure attachment styles in children. Under this view, children labeled as securely attached regard their caregivers as a safe haven during times of distress (Bowlby, 1969) and tend to have better coping and emotional regulation skills (Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2017), endorse fewer depressive symptoms (Kerstis et al., 2018), and face the world with confidence (Zhang et al., 2016). In contrast, insecurely attached children (characterized by avoidant, ambivalent/preoccupied, and disorganized styles) mistrust their caregivers' emotional and physical consistency (Bowlby, 1969). Analyzing these varying attachment styles can help predict subsequent maladjustment in children, such as internalizing and externalizing problems. For example, children who display insecure attachment styles early in life may be more inclined to experience enduring behavioral issues as adults, including but not limited to increased depression (Groh et al., 2017), heightened aggression and hostility (Fearon et al., 2010), amplified social anxiety (Yu et al., 2020), and diminished marital satisfaction (Mohammadi et al., 2016). And so, attachment theory has allowed for an in-depth understanding of the importance behind early attachments set in youth and later implications on ensuing development.

While these attachment categorizations have undoubtedly demonstrated specific inter and intra-behavioral correlations, there remain significant research deficits in the literature. For instance, attachment theorists have begun to explore other variables that interact with attachment styles to produce problematic symptoms, such as peer relationships (Brumariu & Kerns, 2013), gender (Groh et al., 2017), and coping strategies (Estevez et al., 2019). However, scholars have predominately centered these studies on young children and adults, often neglecting preadolescents (Bureau et al., 2020). This gap is attributable to preadolescence being the most recent developmental group studied by attachment scholars (Bosmans & Kerns, 2015; Kerns & Brumariu, 2016). Thus, more studies are needed to fully understand the interaction of attachment style and other moderators among this group. According to Bosmans and Kerns (2015), attachment studies conducted in preadolescence pose critical research and clinical implications as this developmental period lays the foundation for future maladjustment challenges in adolescence and emerging adulthood. We sought to contribute to this body of research by examining the interaction of a secure attachment style, moderated by self-esteem, on externalizing and internalizing problems among a sample of preadolescent children. In this article, we (a) critically review the existing attachment research in preadolescence, (b) analyze findings from this quantitative study, and (c) discuss implications of this study's results for the profession.

Attachment in Preadolescence

Preadolescence is a transformative time in a child's development where youth start to branch off from their caregivers, using these early attachment experiences to inform future relational interactions (Bosmans & Kerns, 2015; Del Giudice, 2015). By preadolescence, many have solidified their internal working models from their early child-caregiver experiences (Bowlby, 1969). Although preadolescents still turn toward their caregivers, this dependency lessens, and a sense of autonomy begins to emerge (Kerns & Brumariu, 2016). Attachment to primary caregivers, then, can be viewed as the foundational trunk of an individual's life, with the resultant branches, or lack thereof, denoting the relational styles that have emanated from one's early attachment style. In this regard, preadolescents' emotional regulation and overall socio-emotional adaptation become the fruit born from a secure attachment style developed in youth (Bureau et al., 2020), often enduring into later adulthood (Bosmans & Kerns, 2015; Movahed Abtahi & Kerns, 2017). Longitudinal research has supported this phenomenon, revealing that secure-base scripts established in preadolescence tend to remain stable over time (Schoenmaker et al., 2015; Waters et al., 2019).

Although the literature has demonstrated the innumerable advantages of a secure parent–child relationship on socio-emotional adjustment (Kerstis et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2016; Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2017), a secure attachment style may not always be sufficient as a stand-alone mechanism to prevent children from developing maladaptive issues. For instance, findings from a recent longitudinal study revealed that parent–child attachment security predicted fewer internalizing and externalizing problems over time; however, contrary findings also emerged, showing that higher parental attachment was equally linked to childrens' diminished capacity to physiologically self-regulate (Kuhn, 2019). In a review of the research, Moss and Lecompte (2015) similarly found discrepant outcomes with a subsect of insecurely attached preadolescents that scored higher on internalizing problems in some studies but mirrored their securely attached peers in others. In addition, Seon’s (2021) structural equation modeling study showed self-esteem as having fully mediated parental attachment security and social anxiety in that securely attached preadolescents were less socially anxious based on higher levels of self-esteem. Taken together, these findings suggest that a secure parent–child attachment may not be the only pathway to mitigate internalizing and externalizing problems in youth. In line with this view, there are significant research and clinical applications in examining how self-esteem interacts with a secure attachment style to influence preadolescents' behaviors, namely informing preventative intervention strategies to ward off future maladjustment challenges.

Self-Esteem in Preadolescence

Among all developmental stages, preadolescence is a period when early attachment relationships begin to directly influence the development of self-esteem (Bureau et al., 2020; Magro et al., 2019). For instance, researchers have shown that whereas an early secure parental attachment is predictive of higher self-esteem in preadolescence, an insecure paternal attachment in youth is related to lower self-esteem and more significant externalizing problems in preadolescence, with mother–child attachment moderating these associations (Bureau et al., 2020). Examining such relationships is crucial as the available research literature has also pointed to the moderating role of self-esteem on subsequent adjustment in adulthood. For instance, Sachs-Ericsson et al. (2010) conducted a study to determine the association between childhood abuse and future internalizing disorders. Findings from this study revealed that self-esteem served to moderate this interaction; specifically, participants who reported lower levels of self-esteem also experienced more negative effects from their early abuse histories (Sachs-Ericsson et al., 2010). Therefore, additional analyses are needed to explore the relationship between self-esteem and early attachment on behavioral issues among preadolescents.

Self-Esteem and Peers in Preadolescence

Studies have shown that social relationships and self-esteem are reciprocal across the lifespan (Harris & Orth, 2020). During preadolescence, peers become paramount, often becoming "alternative attachment figures" (Del Giudice, 2015, p. 23) that play a significant role in self-esteem development (Sveningsson, 2013), as well as future mental health and socio-emotional adjustment (Shin et al., 2016). For instance, a study conducted by Kerns et al. (1996) revealed that a secure mother–child attachment significantly influenced peer acceptance and reduced critical tendencies among adolescent children. Thus, multimodal analysis incorporating peer nomination may provide unique insight into how self-esteem interacts with a secure mother–child attachment style to produce internalizing and externalizing problems in preadolescence.

Scholars have also noted the association of secure peer and parent attachments on decreasing adjustment problems in youth, such as becoming a bully perpetrator or a victim of bullying (Murphy et al., 2017), with insecure parental attachment correlating with peer bullying (Eliot & Cornell, 2009). However, Choi et al. (2018) conducted a study examining bullying perpetration and victimization among a sample of preadolescents, revealing that children with higher self-esteem were, in fact, more susceptible to engaging in perpetration behaviors. This finding suggests that high self-esteem is insufficient to buffer children with insecure attachment styles from developing socio-adjustment issues. Therefore, a secure attachment style combined with high self-esteem may jointly influence preadolescent behavioral development.

The Present Study

To date, scholars have made significant advances in the realm of childhood attachment research. However, there remains a gap in our understanding of the factors that interact with a secure attachment style to either facilitate or protect preadolescents from changes in internalizing and externalizing symptoms over time. One such factor that has garnered attention in the literature as a moderator of socio-emotional development is self-esteem. In this short-term longitudinal study, we hypothesize that more securely attached preadolescents who report higher levels of self-esteem will show a reduction of internalizing and externalizing difficulties over the course of a school year.

Method

Participants

Participants were 407 preadolescent children (n = 213 girls, 194 boys) from the general school population in five elementary schools across the southeastern United States. The median age of participants was 11 years and 1 month. The sample was ethnically diverse, with roughly 51% comprising Non-Hispanic White children (n = 211), and the remaining 49% including Black (n = 113) and Hispanic (n = 83) children. Time 1 (T1) measures were collected in the beginning quarter of the fourth grade, while Time 2 (T2) measures were collected in the beginning quarter of the fifth grade.

Procedure

When participants were in the fourth grade (T1) and again in the fifth grade (T2), they responded to scales assessing secure attachment to their mother and perceived self-esteem; they also completed a peer nomination inventory whereby participants evaluated their peers on varying internalizing and externalizing problems. Children were individually tested in a quiet room at their school by one of several female graduate assistants who read the items to the child. The study was approved by the University's Institutional Review Board (IRB). Written parental consent and child assent were also gathered before data was collected.

Measures

Secure attachment

As we were interested in solely measuring secure attachment, we utilized only eight items of Kerns et al.’s (1996) Security Scale, which was developed to assess preadolescents' perceptions of whether their mother is loving, accessible, and sensitive when needed for help or communication. This scale has been used extensively in previous research to measure secure attachment during preadolescence (Menon et al., 2017; Yunger et al., 2005). First, participants decided which kind of children they resembled more based on scenarios provided by the questionnaire. They then indicated whether this choice was "sort of true" or "very true" for them. An example item from this scale is, "Some kids worry that their mom does not really love them, but other kids are really sure that their mother loves them." Scale scores were formed by averaging across items and could range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating higher secure attachment. Cronbach’s alpha at Time 1 (Time 2) is .72 (.77).

Self-Esteem

Self-esteem was measured using Harter’s (1985) Global Self-Worth scale. Harter's global self-worth scale is frequently used to measure self-esteem throughout childhood and adolescence (Granleese & Joseph, 1994; Menon et al., 2007) and has shown cross-cultural relevance (Broc, 2014). An example of a question measuring self-esteem from this scale is, "some kids are often unhappy with themselves, but other kids are pretty pleased with themselves." Participants would then indicate whether the statement was "very true for me" or "sort of true for me." Cronbach’s alpha at Time 1 (Time 2) is .73 (.74).

Externalizing and Internalizing Problems

Internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems were identified using a peer nomination inventory in which participants checked off the names of classmates who exhibited these behaviors during interactions with peers. Peer nomination was implemented given its reliability in determining sociometric data (Maunder & Monks, 2019). The internalizing problems measure captured anxious, depressed, withdrawn, helpless, self-deprecating, and hovering behaviors demonstrated in the peer group. Examples of internalizing problems are, he/she "is afraid to do things," he/she "is always asking for help," and he/she "looks sad often." Cronbach’s alpha at Time 1 (Time 2) is .91 (.91).

The externalizing problems measure tapped argumentative, dishonest, disruptive, and aggressive behaviors in the peer group. Examples of externalizing measurements are, he/she "argues a lot," he/she "hits and pushes others around," and he/she "sometimes takes things that belong to someone else." Cronbach’s alpha at Time 1 (Time 2) is .95 (.95). The inventory scores ranged from 0 to 1. Scores were then summed and averaged per scale, yielding the internalizing and externalizing scale scores. Peer nominations were utilized in this study to gather a more objective view of the dependent variables of interest. Although not completely objective, peer nominations have shown to be more objective when measuring social behaviors than self-reports, particularly when the questions revolve around sensitive topics such as physical aggression (Aults, 2020; Clarke & Ladd, 2000). Moreover, peer assessments can assess low-frequency or covert behaviors such as social withdrawal and aggressive behavior that can be difficult to measure using direct observation by teachers or parents (Cillessen & Marks, 2017).

Statistical Analyses

This study's statistical analyses included descriptive data that gave the mean and standard deviation, as well as the correlations among measures. We used partial correlations to examine the relationships between secure attachment, self-esteem, and internalizing and externalizing problems at T1 and T2. In addition, we conducted two separate longitudinal hierarchical linear regression analyses to test whether self-esteem moderated the relation of secure attachment to internalizing and externalizing problems. In these regression analyses, we treated internalizing and externalizing problems as dependent variables, and self-esteem and secure attachment were the predictor variables. In all subsequent analyses, we controlled for sex and race/ethnicity. Research suggests that externalizing and internalizing problems may be sex-differentiated in this age group (Archer, 2004; Aults et al., 2019) and differ by race/ethnicity (McLaughlin et al., 2007). Also, for examining relative change from T1 to T2, for each regression analysis looking at either internalizing at T2 or externalizing at T2, we controlled for these dependent variables at T1 on step one. We used IBM SPSS (Version 27.0) statistics software for all statistical analyses.

Results

Data Analyses

Means and standard deviations of the measures at T1 and T2 can be found in Table 1. Measures were relatively similar across both time points; however, boys scored higher than girls in externalizing problems at T1. In addition, Non-Hispanic White participants reported higher levels of internalizing problems at T2 (M = .16, SD = .14) than Black participants (M = .13, SD = .09); however, Black participants reported higher levels of externalizing problems at T2 (M = .32, SD = .22), than Non-Hispanic White participants (M = .16, SD = .14). Additionally, Black participants reported higher levels of externalizing problems at T2 (M = .32, SD = .22), than Hispanic participants (M = .14, SD = .15). Overall, both internalizing and externalizing problems were positively skewed to the right, indicating low frequencies of both dispositions within the sample.

Table 1.

Means and Standard Deviations of Measures.

	Girls		Boys		Sex Differences
Time 1 Measures	M	SD	M	SD	t
Secure attachment	3.26	.59	3.21	.62	.779
Self-esteem	3.24	.62	3.19	.62	.849
Internalizing problems	.19	.13	.20	.14	−.782
Externalizing problems	.20	.17	.25	.18	−2.83**
Time 2 Measures
Secure attachment	3.27	.66	3.32	.58	−.746
Self-esteem	3.28	.66	3.30	.62	−.299
Internalizing problems	.16	.12	.15	.13	.895
Externalizing problems	.19	.18	.22	.18	−1.530

Note. t values indicate the significance of the sex difference.

**p < .01.

Partial correlations among all measures at both T1 and T2 are reported in Table 2. There was a moderate degree of similarity between T1 and T2 of all measures (p′s < .01). These findings echo similar studies that show similarity across secure attachment (Waters et al., 2019), self-esteem (Chung et al., 2017), and internalizing and externalizing problems (Hatoum et al., 2018) over time.

Table 2.

Correlations Between Time-1 Measures and Time-2 Measures.

	Time 2 Measures
Time 1 Measures	1	2	3	4
1. Secure attachment	.42**	.17**	−.12*	−.08
2. Self-Esteem	.22**	.38**	−.07	−.12*
3. Internalizing problems	−.12*	−.04	.55**	−.04
4. Externalizing problems	−.07	−.08	.09	.58**

Note. Entries are partial correlations with sex and race/ethnicity controlled.

*p < .05 level. **p < .01 level.

We ran two separate longitudinal hierarchical linear regression analyses to examine the hypothesized interactive influences of secure attachment and self-esteem on internalizing and externalizing problems. In this study, both the predictor variables were correlated, so a test for multicollinearity was performed. Multicollinearity was not a concern; all variance inflation factors (VIFs) and Tolerance values were acceptable (all VIFs <1.00); this indicates that the predictor variables are different enough to explain the variance in the dependent variables. The first regression analysis treated internalizing difficulties at T2 as the dependent variable. On the first step, sex, race/ethnicity, and internalizing difficulties at T1 were entered. On the second step, secure attachment at T1 and self-esteem at T1 were entered. On the third step, the interaction of secure attachment at T1 x self-esteem at T1 was tested. Results of the regression are summarized in Table 3. The two-way interaction was significant on the third step (β = -. 09, p = .030). Following procedures recommended by Aiken and West (1991), which estimates the relation of a predictor at low (-1SD) and high (+1 SD) levels of a second variable conceptualized as the moderator, we examined the relation of secure attachment to internalizing problems at low and high levels of self-esteem. This interaction is plotted in Figure 1. As may be seen, secure attachment was associated with a decrease in internalizing problems at T2, but only for youth with high self-esteem (β = −.15, p = .020).

Table 3.

Regression Analysis for the Interaction of Secure Attachment and Self-Esteem Predicting Internalizing Problems at T2.

Predictor	ΔR²	β	P	SE
Step 1	.30		.000
Sex		−.06	.115	.08
Race/ethnicity		.016	.709	.03
Internalizing problems T1		.55	.000	.04
Step 2	.00		.385
Sex		−.07	.102	.08
Race/ethnicity		.00	.879	.03
Internalizing problems T1		.54	.000	.04
Secure attachment		−.05	.272	.04
Self-esteem		−.02	.654	.04
Step 3	.01		.030
Sex		−.07	.088	.08
Race/ethnicity		.00	.998	.04
Internalizing problems T1		.54	.000	.04
Secure attachment		−.06	.201	.04
Self-esteem		−.03	.530	.04
Secure attachment x self-esteem		−.09	.030	.04
Total R²	.31

Figure 1.

Time 2 internalizing problems as a function of the interaction of secure attachment and self-esteem.

The second regression analysis treated externalizing difficulties as the dependent variable. On the first step, sex, race/ethnicity, and externalizing difficulties at T1 were entered. On the second step, secure attachment at T1 and self-esteem at T1 were entered. Finally, on the third step, the interaction of secure attachment x self-esteem was tested. Results of the regression are summarized in Table 4. The two-way interaction showed that the p-value is above the traditional threshold for statistical significance on the third step (β = −.08, p = .052). To examine if a similar pattern of interaction was found in the previous analyses utilizing internalizing difficulties as the dependent variable, we examined the relation of secure attachment to externalizing problems at low (1- SD) and high (+1 SD) levels of self-esteem. This interaction is plotted in Figure 2. As may be seen, secure attachment was associated with a decrease in externalizing problems at T2-only for youth with high self-esteem (β =−.14, p = .029). Taken together, these results provide some support for our central hypothesis. First, securely attached preadolescents who report higher levels of self-esteem show reduced internalizing difficulties over time. Second, tentative evidence was found to support the hypothesis that securely attached preadolescents who report higher levels of self-esteem show reduced externalizing difficulties over time.

Table 4.

Regression Analysis for the Interaction of Secure Attachment and Self-Esteem Predicting Externalizing Problems at T2.

Predictor	ΔR²	β	P	SE
Step 1	.34		.000
Sex		−.01	.885	.08
Race/ethnicity		.034	.407	.03
Externalizing problems T1		.58	.000	.04
Step 2	.01		.385
Sex		−.01	.820	.08
Race/ethnicity		.02	.663	.03
Externalizing problems T1		.58	.000	.04
Secure attachment		−.05	.254	.04
Self-esteem		−.05	.208	.04
Step 3	.01		.030
Sex		−.01	.763	.08
Race/ethnicity		.01	.722	.04
Externalizing problems T1		.58	.000	.04
Secure attachment		−.06	.198	.04
Self-esteem		−.06	.159	.04
Secure attachment x self-esteem		−.08	.052	.04
Total R²	.36

Figure 2.

Time 2 externalizing problems as a function of the interaction of secure attachment and self-esteem.

Discussion

Bowlby (1982) suggested that development spans "from the cradle to the grave" (p. 127). Despite this notion, one major grievance of attachment theory is the lack of available research on measuring attachment through varying stages of life, especially in preadolescence (Bureau et al., 2020; Yunger et al., 2005). While secure and insecure attachment styles have demonstrated significant behavioral associations in early infancy, these categorizations are likely susceptible to change and interact with other variables to produce type-specific behavior (Brumariu & Kerns, 2013; Estevez et al., 2019; Groh et al., 2017). Thus, exploring moderators of preadolescents′ attachment styles is crucial to comprehensively understand the variables that can either create or prevent future socio-emotional maladjustment in youth (Bureau et al., 2020). This line of research is particularly significant given that internalizing and externalizing problems tend to remain stable throughout the lifespan (Hatoum et al., 2018).

The present study's findings revealed that securely attached preadolescents with higher levels of self-esteem were associated with a reduction of behavioral difficulties over time. The study variables were relatively similar across both time points (as seen in Table 1), suggesting a similitude of the coefficients longitudinally. In addition, measures were similar from T1 and T2, reflecting findings from previous research (Chung et al., 2017; Hatoum et al., 2018; Waters et al., 2019). Central to our hypothesis, we performed regression analyses to investigate whether self-esteem moderated the relationship of secure attachment to internalizing and externalizing behaviors over time. Findings revealed that preadolescents who reported high secure mother–child attachment and more positive views of the self (i.e., higher self-esteem) were associated with reduced internalizing difficulties at T2. In addition, although the effect found for externalizing problems was not significant, our findings provide tentative support that a high secure maternal attachment style moderated by high self-esteem may be implicated in reducing externalizing problems over time. Perhaps, these effects may be strengthened by including additional contextual variables (e.g., paternal attachment).

Longitudinal studies have demonstrated that self-esteem serves to moderate children's early abuse histories, with low self-esteem predicting subsequent internalizing disorders as adults (Sachs-Ericsson et al., 2010) and high self-esteem lending to externalizing problems in preadolescence such as bully perpetration (Choi & Park, 2018). In addition, self-esteem is a known causal mechanism of parental attachment security (Seon, 2021), and children with a secure caregiver attachment face considerably less internalizing and externalizing difficulties (Kerstis et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2016; Zimmer-Gembeck et al., 2017). However, findings from our study reveal that secure attachment alone may not be as significant as once thought at protecting children against developing socio-emotional problems. Ultimately, this study suggests an interplay between multiple factors that drive the development of behavior problems in preadolescence.

Implications and Limitations

The results of this longitudinal study pose significant implications for future research and clinical practice. First, this study adds to the preadolescence attachment research literature, extending our scope beyond the behavioral associations behind attachment styles. Specifically, our study highlighted the underlying moderators (i.e., self-esteem) that interact with a secure attachment style to promote internalizing and externalizing problems in preadolescents. Among clinicians, examining these interactions is essential as higher occurrences of problematic behaviors during preadolescence, keystones of an insecure attachment style, are predictive of future psychopathology in adulthood (Laceulle et al., 2019). In fact, studies have already evinced that an insecure attachment style, coupled with low self-esteem, contributes to increased social anxiety in preadolescence (Seon, 2021), even facilitating future paranoid beliefs in adulthood (Martinez et al., 2021). These outcomes are noteworthy as preadolescence is a time rife with mental health challenges, with roughly 1 in 6 school-aged children exhibiting sufficient internalizing and externalizing symptoms for a diagnosable mental health disorder (Danielson et al., 2021). The recent COVID-19 pandemic has only added to this concern, with findings from a recent study noting a sharp increase in emotional symptoms (10%), hyperactivity and inattention (20%), and conduct issues (35%) among preadolescents since the onset of the pandemic (Waite et al., 2021). Thus, clinicians can be better equipped to understand and address the complexity underlying preadolescent behavior in studying these interactions.

Overall, this study provides a significant contribution to the attachment research literature, highlighting the moderating role that high self-esteem, coupled with a secure mother–child attachment, plays in decreasing socio-emotional challenges among preadolescents. This finding is significant, particularly given the stability of internalizing and externalizing problems identified in this age group over time (Hatoum et al., 2018). Nonetheless, some limitations should be noted. First, this study exclusively focused on the effects of mother–child attachment security; however, research shows that an early insecure father–child attachment is related to the later development of low self-esteem and externalizing problems in preadolescence (Bureau et al., 2020). Second, this study was also limited to two data collection points. Future research could benefit by adding a third data collection period to provide a more reliable benchmark of the observed phenomena. In addition, researchers are encouraged to assess whether high self-esteem moderates the relation of father–child attachment security to preadolescents' behavioral problems in future studies. Lastly, research has shown that the use of peer nomination poses some methodological disadvantages such as incurring name order effects and item order impacting how specific items are scored; however, peer nomination has shown benefits outweighing its limitations, including (a) cost-effectiveness, (b) greater objectivity than teacher or parental reports, (c) more appropriate than naturalistic methods among older children and adolescents, and (d) increased capacity to detect internalizing and externalizing behaviors (Cillessen & Marks, 2017). Despite these limiting factors, this study adds to previous research (Kuhn, 2019; Moss & Lecompte, 2015), demonstrating that a secure attachment style may be insufficient as a stand-alone variable to prevent future maladaptive issues among preadolescents. Additional studies are needed to uncover other moderating variables that interact with attachment style to produce the overall effect. In doing so, the field can begin to integrate preventative-based interventions that target these moderating variables, thereby destabilizing socio-emotional challenges that start developing in preadolescence.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Taylor J. Irvine

Author Biographies

Taylor J. Irvine, MEd, EdS, is a licensed mental health counselor and doctoral candidate in the Counselor Education and Supervision program at Florida Atlantic University. Her research focuses on couples and infidelity, wellness and development in childhood and adolescence, and eating disorders and body image concerns.

Christopher D. Aults, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at King’s College. His research focuses on social development in childhood and adolescence.

Meenakshi Menon, PhD, is a user experience researcher in the tech industry. Previously, she was a Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University. Her academic research focused on psychological wellbeing in children and teenagers.

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