[On the relationship between parents' attachment styles and students' social, behavioral, and emotional adjustments in non-local freshmen university students]

ABSTRACT

Purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between father and mother attachment styles with social competence and social emotional adjustment in samples of non-local freshmen university students in Tabriz University, western part of Iran. In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, subjects were chosen among the freshmen students of Tabriz University. Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment [IPPA], Reynolds Adolescent Adjustment Inventory [RAAI] and Inventory Competence Questionnaire- Revised [ICQ-R] were filled out by 182 students [91 men and 91 women]. The collected data were analyzed using multiple-regression. The results show that there is a positive meaningful relationship between parents1 positive attachment styles [trust and communication] and socio-emotional adjustment [P<0/001]. However, there is a negative significant relationship between parents' negative attachment styles [emotional alienation] and social-emotional adjustment. Also, positive meaningful relationship between parents' positive attachments styles with students' social competence were found [P<0/001]. Based on results of this research, we found that among predictive variables, mother's emotional alienation and father's trust are best indicators for changes related to students' socio-emotional adjustment [P<0/001]. Furthermore, component of mother's trust only can be explained 11 percents of variation of social competence [P<0/001]. Parental attachment styles play an important role in different adjustment domains [social, behavioral and emotional] and social competence in university students