How Parental Attachment Influences College Students’ Social Domains

Abstract

We investigated how parental continued attachment was related to college students’ social provision areas during the early phases of college to better understand student persistence factors. Using a sample of undergraduate students (N = 419), we applied structural equation modeling and found that mother and father continued attachment affects the social provisions of students in different ways. Mother attachment was related to nurturance and emotional connection, whereas father attachment was related to worth, guidance, alliance, and emotional connection. These relational and social provision areas may serve as influence factors related to college student persistence. Limitations and implications for student persistence, development, researchers, and educators are discussed.

Keywords

continued parental attachment social domains college persistence

There is a need to understand college students’ persistence and development by empirically testing how continued relational attachment patterns to caregivers currently influence students’ social relationships across six domains while in college (Cutrona & Russell, 1987). Early caregiving attachment relationships are essential to all kinds of social relationships throughout life (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016). Thus, it is necessary to examine how current caregiving attachment relationships continue to influence social relationships due to the strong protective functions that relationships serve throughout college and help students’ academic persistence. Both the similarities and differences among mother and father caregivers are of particular interest related to the attachment process, as the existing body of research on parental gender and social development is both sparse and inconclusive. Furthermore, attachment research often focuses solely on the mother as the primary attachment caregiver (Majai, Frias, & Shaver, 2016), suggesting a gap in the literature and a need for greater attention devoted to continued attachment to the father. To address limitations in the literature, this study examined how continued attachment to both mother and father directly influences six social relational domains among college students, including guidance, emotional closeness, alliance, reassurance of worth, social integration, and nurturance (Cutrona & Russell, 1987; Weiss, 1974), which continues to relate to less distress and depression (Perreault, Toure, Perreault, & Caron, 2017). Subsequently, it is our hope that the results will be generalizable to young college students, offering helpful practical suggestions for college counselors, educators, and administrators in university settings to increase students’ persistence and the well-being in emerging adults during their transition to college.

During college students’ development, we can help to cultivate a more supportive context for social development through better understanding of how current relationships form as well as how these relationships are influenced by past interpersonal patterns with caregivers (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016). Furthermore, healthy parental involvement has been related to college students’ perceived academic success (Howard, Nicholson, & Chesnut, 2019). Based on a meta-analysis, we also know that parental attachment positively influences college adjustment (Mattanah, Lopez, & Govern, 2011). However, an important area that is missing from the literature is how continued parental attachment continues to play an active role in the formation and significance of current social relationships during emerging adulthood, especially during the early stages of the transition to college.

Continued Attachment to Parents

John Bowlby (1969) laid the original groundwork for our current understanding of human attachment by proposing that relationships with early caregivers may provide the foundation for both beliefs about the self and enduring relational patterns with others. Bowlby’s work prompted a wealth of research into areas of early attachment and the importance of mother–infant interactions to the child’s subsequent development. Although the attachment literature initially focused on early infant-caregiver attachments (Bowlby, 1969) and the formation of relational styles (Ainsworth, Salter, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978), it has evolved to include attachment throughout the lifespan, and its association with adult attachment (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016). One aspect of the research on adult attachment of considerable interest is that of continued attachment to parents beyond childhood, yet little research has examined continued attachment to caregivers during emerging adulthood and the transition to college. The vast amount of adult attachment literature has focused on individuals’ attachment to romantic partners or relationships in general based on the understanding that early attachment patterns are generalized to other relationships years later and influence social competence (Fraley, Roisman, Booth-LaForce, Owen, & Holland, 2013). However, this study investigated how current attachment with caregivers continues to influence social provision areas in relationships with others during the transition to college.

Research has shown that continued parental attachment during emerging adulthood may be adaptive and perhaps even protective against distress common in times of transition or separation, such as the one that occurs during the transition to college (e.g., Berman, Heiss, & Sperling, 1994; Fass & Tubman, 2002; Kenny & Donaldson, 1991). In college students, parental attachment has been shown to relate to both emotional well-being and social competence (Rice, Cunningham, & Young, 1997) as well as life satisfaction in later adulthood (Perrone, Webb, & Jackson, 2007). It has also been associated with lower distress (Frey, Beesley, & Miller, 2006; Hannum & Dvorak, 2004), emotional adjustment (Ross & Fuertes, 2010), college adjustment (Hinderlie & Kenny, 2002; Kalsner & Pistole, 2003; Lapsley & Edgerton, 2002; Mattanah et al., 2011), academic competence (Fass & Tubman, 2002), ease of making friends (Parade, Leerkes, & Blankson, 2010), and overall life satisfaction (Guarnieri, Smorti, & Tani, 2015). The opposite has also been demonstrated in emerging adults, with worsening parental relationships correlated with increasing distress and poorer adjustment to college (Hiester, Nordstrom, & Swenson, 2009), which likely leads to students leaving college. It is clear that parental attachment plays a crucial role in human development across the lifespan, perhaps uniquely so in students during the transition to college. Understanding how students’ continued attachment to their parents may relate to various domains of their psychosocial development and functioning remains an important area for further empirical exploration.

Social Development

Healthy social relationships and a sense of perceived social support represent another especially important determinant of student development during college. In his seminal work, Weiss (1974) posited that social relationships provide individuals with necessary provisions for well-being, and that a lack of social connection leads to major distress. Subsequent research has supported this hypothesis, confirming that social relationships are crucial to health and well-being (see Cohen & Wills, 1985) and that loneliness is related to mortality (Rico-Uribe et al., 2018). Current research continues to substantiate the importance of social support and mental health (Perreault et al., 2017) and how different forms of social support can decrease psychological distress (Warren, Fowler, Speed, & Walsh, 2018).

Weiss (1974) proposed six interrelated categories of social support: attachment, social integration, opportunity for nurturance, reassurance of worth, reliable alliance, and guidance. In the context of the social provision literature, the term attachment, sometimes referred to as connection, relates to an individual’s sense of belonging and emotional closeness in relationships (Cutrona & Russell, 1987; Weiss, 1974). Social integration is characterized by relationships that share common interests and concerns and that provide opportunities for social events. Nurturance represents a personal belief that the self is needed by or useful to others (Cutrona & Russell, 1987). Reassurance of worth is viewed as a way that others can be regarded as being able to provide actual assistance (Cutrona & Russell, 1987). Reassurance of worth has been associated with lower levels of depression in college students, suggesting that reassurance of worth may play an especially important role in helping college students succeed and thrive during the stressful college years (Cutrona & Russell, 1987). Reliable alliance speaks to individuals’ sense of security in relationships with others, or their confidence that others will be available for support should the need arise. Finally, the provision of guidance contains the idea that the individual has trusted others who will provide support and direction when needed (Weiss, 1974). Interestingly, research has found different areas of social provisions related to well-being. For instance, individuals that experienced reassurance of worth and social integration reported less psychological distress (Warren et al., 2018).

Parental Attachment and Social Development

Existing research has well established that early attachment relationships with caregivers influence later life social relationships (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016); however, to date, research has failed to conclusively identify how current parental attachment actively influences college students’ various domains of social functioning consistent with parental role, making this an area of particular interest. For example, does continued attachment to the mother figure bolster her child’s propensity to seek out opportunities to provide nurturance? Does the father figure tend to provide more guidance during college that may increase students’ persistence?

Research findings are mixed, and some studies provide support for an association between both mother and father attachment security and decreases in overall distress and increases in life satisfaction for college students (Kumar & Mattanah, 2016) that likely enhances their persistence. However, this same study with college students found that only the mother attachment was predictive of relationship competence and relationship satisfaction. Other studies have found that continued attachment to the mother, but not the father, may be adaptive during times of emotional distress for both female and male emerging adults (Berman et al., 1994). Others have shown that it is the relationship with the father rather than the mother that relates to the social provision of attachment (Dalton, Frick-Horbury, & Kitzmann, 2006). Conversely, Berman et al. (1994) found that continued attachment to the father may have negative implications, with female college students’ continued attachment to their fathers correlated with feelings of isolation, loneliness, loss, and low autonomy. However, more recent research from Kerns and Brumariu (2016) found a positive association between continued paternal attachment and social popularity. Others even found that attachment to the father specifically may be more important for overall social competence (Rice et al., 1997) and social adjustment (Hannum & Dvorak, 2004). Finally, a meta-analysis of parental attachment and college adjustment indicated that both parents may be equally important to social adjustment and development, regardless of emerging adult gender (Mattanah et al., 2011). Considering the inconclusiveness of pertinent research and the importance of better understanding parental continued attachment in the context of college student development and persistence, the function of parental role in contributing to social development in emerging adulthood during college warrants further exploration.

Purpose of the Study

The present study investigated how college students’ continued attachment to both mother and father related to the social domains of nurturance, guidance, reliable alliance, reassurance of worth, emotional support, and a sense of belonging that may in turn increase student persistence. To this end, the current study tested a structural model to determine the possible direct effects of continued attachment on the aforementioned domains of social support. The model hypothesized that college students’ continued attachment to their caregiver(s) would influence social domains differently for maternal versus paternal continued attachment. We hypothesized that continued attachment to mother would have a stronger effect for the social domains of nurturance than guidance, whereas father attachment would have a stronger effect for guidance than nurturance. This hypothesis aligns with longitudinal research that suggests father attachment influences guidance during exploration (Grossmann et al., 2002). Understanding these relationships may provide college personnel and educators with a more holistic developmental view of emerging adulthood during the early stages of college and perhaps may yield more effective ways of helping students as they navigate the responsibilities and uncertainties of college life and lead to increases in student retention and persistence.

Method

Participants and Procedures

Participants included 419 college students from undergraduate psychology courses conducted at an institution in the Rocky Mountain region and was an adequate sample size based on the analysis used (Kline, 2016). There were 258 females and 161 males, 81% of whom were in their freshman year of college and the remaining participants were in their sophomore year. The age of the participants was restricted to 18 to 20 years (M = 18.61, Mdn = 19, SD = .65), which is consistent with the age of emerging adults (Arnett, 2000) during the early stages of college. The ethnicity of the participants largely reported as being Caucasian (74%) followed by Hispanic (13%), African American (4%), Asian (1%), and not reported (7%). Participants reported their parents’ relationship status as married (60%), divorced (28%), separated (2%), never married (6%), or other (4%). The percentages above may not equal 100 due to rounding error. Once the study’s institutional review board protocol was approved, participants were recruited from psychology courses and instructed to complete the survey through online methods, and data were securely stored.

Instruments

Social domains

The Social Provisions Scale (SPS; Cutrona & Russell, 1987) consists of 24 items and 6 subscales that include nurturance, guidance, reliable alliances, reassurance of worth, emotional support, and a sense of belonging; there are four items on each subscale. Each of these subscales represents a social domain among college students’ current relationships with friends, family, coworkers, and community members. Participants responded to items using a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), with higher scores suggesting greater provision of the respective social domain. The internal consistency based on the sample of scores on the SPS subscales ranged from .65 to .76 (Cutrona & Russell, 1987), and subsequent research with freshman college students also reported alpha coefficients ranging from .64 to .83 (Perera, 2016). In the current study, our alpha coefficients based on our sample’s scores ranged from .65 to .81. The SPS has demonstrated construct validity over time since the original publication and has been found to demonstrate predictive validity for loneliness and psychological well-being (Perera, 2016).

Continued parental attachment

The Continued Attachment Scale (CAS; Berman et al., 1994) was used to measure continued attachment to both mother and father. It consists of 12 total items with two subscales that measure attachment for each parent. Participants used a 5-point Likert-type scale to respond to six items for each parent related to the amount of contact the participant had with their identified parent in the last 2 weeks; the scale ranged from 1 (less than once a week) to 5 (several times a day), with higher scores indicating greater continued attachment. The CAS was developed with undergraduate students, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients based on the original sample’s scores were adequate for both mother and father (α = .74 and α = .80, respectively; Berman et al., 1994). The reliability of scores in the current sample was strong for both mother (α = .88) and father (α = .92). Convergent validity has been found with the CAS and other similar measures of parental attachment based on an undergraduate sample (McCarthy, Moller, & Fouladi, 2001). See Table 1 for Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for all variables, mean scores, and bivariate correlations.

Table 1.

Correlation Matrix and Descriptive Statistics (N=419).

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1. Mother attachment	–	.512**	.074	.120*	.119*	.145*	.098*	.197**
2. Father attachment		–	.154*	.119*	.173**	.094	.084	.194**
3. Reliable alliance			–	.651**	.746**	.335**	.575**	.674**
4. Social integration				–	.669**	.447**	.659**	.722**
5. Guidance					–	.377**	.612**	.771**
6. Opportunity for nurturance						–	.381**	.472**
7. Reassurance of worth							–	.662**
8. Emotional connection								–
Means	19.61	16.57	13.87	13.18	13.85	12.23	12.42	13.21
Standard deviations	5.236	6.022	2.055	2.08	2.18	1.99	1.988	2.274
Cronbach’s alpha coefficients	.881	.917	.708	.741	.814	.668	.65	.75

Note. **Correlation is significant at the .001 level and *at the .05 level.

Data Analyses

Descriptive and preliminary analyses were conducted using SPSS (version 23 for Mac), and inspection of means, standard deviations, and correlation matrix was reviewed to ensure statistical assumptions had not been violated. Multivariate normality was found in the data based on linear bivariate scatterplots, and values were below 3.0 on the skewness index and below 10 on the kurtosis index (Kline, 2016). Multicollinearity was not detected in the data, and all bivariate correlations were below .8, which satisfies Kline’s (2016) recommendation. Once assumptions were met, we then employed structural equation modeling analysis using STATA software (SE version 14.2) to determine the relationships between continued parental attachment and the social domains of nurturance, guidance, reliable alliance, reassurance of worth, emotional support, and a sense of belonging. Data were collected using the SPS (Cutrona & Russell, 1987) and the CAS (Berman et al., 1994). Multiple indicators per latent variable were needed to complete the analysis (Kline, 2016); thus, we constructed our model by using item indicators (Hau & Marsh, 2004). We chose to use individual items to examine the latent variable models as recommended by Marsh, Ludtke, Nagengast, Morin, and Von Davier (2013) and to help reduce model misspecification (Little, Rhemtulla, Gibson, & Schoemann, 2013).

A two-step approach was used in testing the measurement and structural models. The measurement model was first examined to confirm that all measured indicators represented the corresponding latent variables. Subsequently, the structural model was tested, and various goodness and badness of fit guidelines were inspected to determine model fit according to appropriate fit criteria based on sample size. Specifically, the recommendations of Weston and Gore (2006) for fit criteria for sample sizes under 500 were used (e.g., comparative fit index [CFI] ≥.90, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] ≤.10, standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] ≤.10).

Results

We followed the two-step procedure for testing our models by first examining the measurement model and then the structural model (Kline, 2016). Given the likely multivariate normality in the data, we used maximum likelihood estimation procedures for all model testing and the Satorra-Bentler correction to help account for any nonnormality in the data (Kline, 2016). Our measurement model provided a good fit to the data based on the established fit criteria (Weston & Gore, 2006). Specifically, our fit statistics were χ²_SB = 1302.72 (p<.001), CFI_SB = .90, RMSEA = .062 (90% Confidence Interval [CI] = [.058, .066]), and SRMR = .051. The chi-square was significant but after using Iacobucci’s (2010) correction (χ²_SB/df), our value of 2.38 was under 3 as recommended. The remaining fit indices also suggested that the measurement model was a good fit with the data and that all indicators appropriately measured the respective latent variables.

Next, we proceeded to test the structural model and we found an adequate fit with the data following Weston and Gore’s (2006) criteria. The following fit indices for the structural model were χ²_SB = 1451.17 (p < .001), CFI_SB = .88, RMSEA = .067 (90% CI = [.063, .071]), and SRMR = .09; and Iacobucci’s (2010) suggested correction (χ²_SB/df = 2.61) was below 3. The results from the structural paths were significant for both mother and father continued attachment being related to emotional closeness (.15, p = .003 & .13, p = .024, respectively). Continued attachment to father was significantly related to the social provisions of worth (.12, p = .029), alliance (.17, p = .002), and guidance (.18, p<.001); however, mother continued attachment was not significantly related to these social provision areas. Continued attachment to mother was significantly related to the social provision of nurturance (.15, p = .012), while continued attachment to father was not significantly related to this area (see Figure 1 for all structural paths).

Figure 1.

Full structural model.

Discussion

Numerous studies have supported the strong connection between parental attachment security and increases in perceived social support (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016). Our findings suggest that continued attachment to both a mother and a father caregiver influence social provisions in different ways for college students. Specifically, we discovered that both mother and father continued attachment directly influence students’ levels of emotional connection. Interestingly, emotional connection was the only social provision that was influenced by both mother and father continued attachment, while the remaining social provisions were influenced only by a single caregiver. The social provision of integration was not significantly related to either caregiver, which suggests that continued attachment does not directly influence students’ view that their parental relationship provides opportunities for social events while attending college. This finding is likely related to emerging adults’ tendency to psychologically distance themselves from their caregivers during the early periods of college (Dykas & Siskind, 2020), as well as to their ability to adjust to college and pursue the task of separation-individuation (Mattanah et al., 2011).

When examining the structural model, we found the direct effects for each significant path ranged from r = .12 to r = .18, which can be interpreted as a small (r = .1) to approaching medium (r = .3) effect on the variables of interest based on Cohen’s (1988) frequently used and cited effect size guidelines (see Figure 1). Maternal continued attachment appears to provide college students with specific social provisions differently from paternal continued attachment. In addition to emotional connection, nurturance was significantly related to continued attachment to mother (r = .15). Nurturance is viewed from the perspective that the individual is able to provide nurturance to others as opposed to receiving it (Cutrona & Russell, 1987). Therefore, it is the mother’s continued attachment that influenced our participants’ perceived ability to help others. The remaining four social provisions (i.e., worth, guidance, integration, and alliance) were not significantly related to continued attachment to mother. However, continued attachment to father was significantly related to three of these remaining variables for students.

Our results indicated that guidance was most strongly related (r = .18) to father attachment. It appears that participants’ continued relationship with their father during the early times of college are most relevant to them, and the focus of this social provision is related to advice giving or problem-solving strategies in times of stress (Cutrona & Russell, 1987). Transitioning to college can be stressful, so guidance during this phase may be especially important for emerging adults in relation to their continued attachment to their father. Particularly, during the early stages of college, caregiver attachment appears to be a main source of support and helps decrease depressive symptoms (Tan, Hurd, & Albright, 2019), and paternal attachment may be particularly important, given that it has had stronger effects on male high school students’ depressive symptoms (Pan, Zhang, Liu, Ran, & Teng, 2016). In addition to guidance, both reassurance of worth and reliable alliance were related to continued attachment to father. These areas both pertain to support, in the sense that individuals feel like they can help others (worth) as well as feeling confident that others are available to help them (alliance). This finding closely aligns with attachment theory by demonstrating that greater secure attachment is congruent with a positive self-others internal working model that represents one’s own perceived value in relationships and how others are available in time of need (Mikulincer, & Shaver, 2016).

Practice Implications

Based on our findings, it appears that mother caregiver figures may be able to more easily provide nurturance, whereas father caregiver figures may be more likely to provide guidance. Regardless of parental role, both mother and father caregivers should continually provide nurturance and guidance to college students as this is especially important during the transition to college and may enhance their development and academic persistence. Furthermore, the quality of communication is also essential in maintaining a positive attachment relationship (Allen & Tan, 2016). Although it is the healthy parental attachment relationship that influences positive college adjustment (Mattanah et al., 2011), additional factors may be important to consider. For example, attitudes about academic help seeking mediated the relationship between parental attachment at college entry and students’ academic adjustment at the end of their first semester (Holt, 2014). During first-year orientation meetings, college counselors and educators may find it beneficial to provide psychoeducational or skill development opportunities for parental caregivers to help focus on the social development in the domains that are most difficult for them to provide to their children while they are attending college. Outreach interventions could also focus on ways to increase students’ attitudes related to seeking academic help, which may lead to increases in academic engagement, motivation, and effectiveness (Holt, 2014).

Researchers using a national representative sample of 26,139 undergraduate students from 52 different schools found that 33.5% of undergraduates reported experiencing stress that has affected their academics in the last 12 months (American College Health Association, 2018). Given the importance of guidance during times of stress and the positive influence of continued attachment to father on this social provision, college counselors may want to develop interventions focused on fostering a positive relationship between young college students and their father figures.

Given that meta-analytic findings have discovered that loneliness is associated with mortality (Rico-Uribe et al., 2018), college counselors should use the student–caregiver relationship to inform interventions meant to expand college students’ support systems. This recommendation is further supported by longitudinal research indicating that caregiver attachment increases emerging adult college students’ perceived peer social support during the transition from fall to spring (Tan et al., 2019). College personnel and student affairs officials may also want to consider identifying ways to improve students’ perceived worth and social integration since these areas are related to health benefits (Ulvick & Spink, 2015). Excluding social integration, parental caregiving relationships may uniquely influence these social provision areas, and college educators can use this information to help bolster students’ social relationships while they transition to college.

Limitations and Future Directions for Research

The present study has limitations that are important to note. Given the homogenous demographic characteristics of our sample, the generalizability of our findings is limited, providing researchers with opportunities for further exploration. Future research should examine the present model with more diverse samples. Specifically, a majority of individuals in our study were Caucasian and we restricted our sample to freshman and sophomore students to remain consistent with the emerging adult period during the transition to college. Future researchers could test our model primarily with senior students, minority-identified students, or recent graduates who have just entered the workforce to determine how continued attachment may relate differently to more advanced students, minority students, or to postgraduate adjustment.

The measured indicators for our latent variables may have influenced our findings. Specifically, our alpha coefficient based on the SPS subscale scores of worth was low (.65), which was similar in other research (i.e., .64) on that specific subscale (Perera, 2016). It is possible that our nonsignificant findings with mother caregiver attachment for that area may have been due to the way it was measured. Researchers may want to address this limitation by seeking out additional ways to measure this variable through scale development procedures.

Another limitation to our study was related to one of our five fit indices. Our CFI fit index was .88 and did not satisfy Weston and Gore’s (2006) guideline (i.e., CFI≥.90) for the structural model. However, multiple fit indices are used to examine model fit (Kline, 2016) and using stringent cutoff criteria may result in misspecification of model fit (Marsh, Hau, & Wen, 2004). The other remaining four cutoff criteria used did result in an acceptable model fit. Researchers should continue to test our model with more diverse samples to determine if any modifications are warranted. For example, parceling the items may have improved the model fit (Little et al., 2013) and resulted in a just-identified model with three indicators per latent variable (Kline, 2016). However, a parceling approach could have concealed any model misspecifications (Little et al., 2013) and we followed Marsh et al.’s (2013) suggestion to use individual items to examine the latent variable model. Future researchers may construct a just-identified model by utilizing a parceling approach or three separate measures per latent variable to determine if the model would provide a more thorough explanation for the data. Regardless of the study’s limitations, educators and researchers may still find it helpful to use our model to further understand and investigate how continued attachment to caregivers influences emerging adults’ social provision areas during the early stages of college, which may lead to increases in persistence.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that continued attachment to parental figures influences college students’ social domains differently. Thus, it may be important for researchers and college personnel to consider these areas when examining college student development and persistence. Specific outreach, educational instruction, and interdisciplinary programming could be designed accordingly to build upon existing strengths and help improve effectiveness in social relationships and support among young college students, which may in turn increase their continued engagement in college and academic persistence (Browning, McDermott, Scaffa, Booth, & Carr, 2018; Robbins et al., 2004).

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

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

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Biographies

Stephen L. Wright is a professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Northern Colorado and serves as the Counseling Psychology Program Coordinator and Director of Clinical Training. He earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Ball State University and is a licensed psychologist in the State of Colorado. His research interests include attachment theory, college students, career development, and scale development.

Allegra R. Lyon is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program at the University of Northern Colorado. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research interests include mindfulness, emerging adulthood, stress, and cultural humility.

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