Search

Emerging adulthood is characterized by pervasive changes in identity and relationships. These challenges can entail problems for subjective well‐being, leading to depressive symptoms. The development of an autonomous‐related self is considered crucial for emerging adults' personal growth and psychological well‐being. Autonomous‐related self is linked to self‐esteem and secure attachment style, which are also protective factors for depression. The current research sought to investigate the relation between autonomous‐related self and depressive symptoms, as well as the role of secure attachment style and self‐esteem, in a sample of 356 Italian emerging adults. Gender differences were taken into account in preliminary analyses. Gender differences emerged for autonomous‐related self and self‐esteem, while secure attachment and depression levels were similar across gender. Our results suggest that autonomous‐related self, mediated by self‐esteem and secure attachment style, is a protective factor for emotional states of depression, controlling for social desirability. These findings emphasize the importance of taking autonomy and relatedness into account in emerging adulthood and represent a starting point for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental attachment is important for adolescents' development as well as cultural context. Poland used to be collectivist but now is closer to individualistic due to social and economic transformation. Few studies have examined parental attachment and self-esteem among Polish adolescents. This descriptive study (N = 303 Polish adolescents) investigated the levels of parental attachment, gender differences, preferred attachment figure, association with self-esteem and cultural differences with collectivistic (China) and individualistic (Italy) cultures. The results indicated that: (1) there was no gender difference in parental attachment; (2) mother was the preferred attachment figure; (3) parental attachment was related to self-esteem; and (4) cultural differences were found. Findings were discussed in terms of Polish sociopolitical situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on parental reflective functioning (PRF)-defined as parents' capacity to comprehend the developing mind of their child, reflect upon it, and hold in mind the inner life of the child-has mostly involved mothers of infants and young children, and rarely fathers and parents of school-aged children. The present study sought to extend research on PRF by examining aspects of the construct that are still scarcely explored, such as the role of gender and attachment; to investigate whether there were differences between mothers' and fathers' PRF and whether there were differences in PRF related to the gender and age of the child; and, finally, to assess the association between PRF and each parent's attachment style. The Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ) and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) were administered to a community sample of mothers and fathers of 385 children aged 3-10 years. A multi-group factor analysis supported the hypothesized three-factor model among both fathers and mothers. Univariate and multivariate analyses of variance showed that mothers had higher levels of interest and curiosity in their children's mental states than fathers. Parents of daughters showed higher pre-mentalizing modes than parents of sons. Parents of preschool children showed less nonmentalizing modes than parents of children aged 8-10. Correlations between PRFQ and ASQ showed that both mothers' and fathers' interest in thinking about their child's internal experience and in taking the child's perspective were correlated with higher levels of secure attachment style. Research implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]