Psychology
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2270
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Item Attachment and Peer and Romantic Relationship Functioning: The Role of Social Information Processing(2022) Fitter, Megan Haley; Cassidy, Jude; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Perhaps the most central tenet of attachment theory is that individual differences in attachment quality relate to social functioning (Bowlby, 1969/82, 1973, 1980). Indeed, abundant research demonstrates that early insecurity toward caregivers relates to poor functioning in later peer and romantic relationships (Englund et al., 2011; McElwain et al., 2008), and individuals’ attachment orientations relate to their concurrent functioning with peers and romantic partners (Collins et al, 2006; Groh et al., 2014). For decades, researchers have been trying to understand why these connections exist. The aim of this dissertation is to help answer this question with a collection of three empirical studies testing social information processing (SIP) as a mechanism through which attachment predicts individual differences in social functioning. The present studies focus on two critical components of SIP—expectations and attributions. Study 1 (N = 2100) examined the indirect effects of adolescents’ attachment style dimensions on their acceptance by peers—assessed with sociometric peer ratings—through negative expectations of peers’ behaviors. Findings revealed that adolescents with greater attachment anxiety (fears of rejection and abandonment) and avoidance (discomfort with closeness) held negative expectations for how their peers would behave, and negative expectations in turn related to low acceptance by peers. Study 2 (N = 347) examined the role of attribution biases and friendship quality on pathways from early attachment to young adolescent romantic relationship quality. Longitudinal latent variable structural equation modeling analyses did not yield evidence for attribution biases or friendship quality as mediators on such pathways. Further, no direct links between early attachment to mothers and romantic relationship quality emerged. Findings did, however, show relations between early attachment to mothers and negative attribution biases about peers, as well as between friendship quality and romantic relationship quality. Study 3 (N = 198) examined a causal link between young adults’ attachment and attribution biases using an experimental priming procedure. Security priming—temporarily boosting feelings of security—led participants to make fewer negative attributions about hypothetical romantic partners’ transgressions. Participants with fewer negative attributions, in turn, reported that they would respond less negatively to the transgressions. Findings across the three studies provide support for SIP as a mechanism through which some conceptualizations of attachment (i.e., attachment style dimensions and temporary feelings of security) relate to social functioning, but findings do not support the theory that SIP explains longitudinal links between early attachment and later social functioning.Item Early Adolescent Romantic Experiences: Early Childhood Predictors and Concurrent Associations with Psychopathology(2019) Foster, Chelsey Barrios; Dougherty, Lea R; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research has demonstrated that early adolescent romantic relationships are prevalent, and initiation of romantic relationships at younger ages bears important implications for youths’ future development. Although earlier dating involvement may increase risk for negative outcomes, the majority of research on teen relationships focuses on older adolescents; a paucity of research explores the phenomenology of preteen romantic relationships. Further, a striking gap exists in the study of how early childhood factors may affect early adolescent romantic relationships. In order to address these gaps, the current study aimed to elucidate the phenomenology and concurrent psychosocial correlates of preteen (age 12) romantic relationships and to delineate early childhood variables that predict involvement in and quality of preteen romantic relationships. In a longitudinal sample of 440 youth, we examined concurrent associations between multiple dimensions of age 12 romantic relationships (dating experiences, risky dating, relationship discord, relationship closeness, sexual experience) and friendship competence, and age 12 psychopathology (anxiety, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], disruptive behavior disorder [DBD] symptoms) and psychosocial functioning. Given prior research indicating that pubertal status and child sex may also play a role in romantic relationship involvement, we examined these two variables as moderators in concurrent analyses. In addition, we examined how two salient dimensions of early childhood (temperament and parenting, assessed at age 3) predicted romantic relationship outcomes at age 12. Results indicated that more frequent romantic experiences at age 12 were associated with increased psychosocial distress and poorer functioning; however, youth with higher quality romantic relationships evidenced lower levels of psychiatric symptoms and better psychosocial functioning. In addition, the associations between early adolescent romantic relationships and adjustment were complex and were moderated by child sex and pubertal status. Further, dimensions of age 3 childhood temperament and parenting differentially predicted dimensions of early adolescent romantic relationships and friendship competence. Importantly, our findings contribute to a growing body of literature on preteen romantic relationships, and are among the first data to examine early childhood predictors of age 12 romantic relationship outcomes. These findings hold important clinical implications for future early adolescent prevention and intervention programs.