Relationship of attachment and social support to college students' adjustment following a relationship breakup

Hatch, Katharine D.; Moller, Naomi P.; Fouladi, Rachel T.; McCarthy, Christopher J.

Abstract

Two constructs integral to adolescent development, continuing parental attachment and social support, were investigated to assess whether the constructs are differentially related to indices of adjustment following a romantic relationship breakup. Participants were 241 undergraduate students (M age = 20.62 years, 61% female, 39% male) with a relationship breakup within the last year. As hypothesized, hierarchical regression analyses showed that current attachment levels were related to the outcome variables. Indices of social support accounted for additional variance only when broadly conceptualized as perceived connection to the social environment, rather than perceived support from family and friends. Implications for counseling are discussed.

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2003
• Deposit Date: Mar 11, 2013
• Journal: Journal of Counseling and Development
• Print ISSN: 0748-9633
• Electronic ISSN: 1556-6676
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 81
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 354-369
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2003.tb00262.x
• Keywords: college students, social support, attachment, relationship breakup
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1074017
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1002/j.1556-6678.2003.tb00262.x
• Contract Date: Nov 16, 2016