ERIC Number: EJ1026356
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Jan
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-930X
EISSN: N/A
An Attachment Perspective on Anger among Adolescents
Konishi, Chiaki; Hymel, Shelley
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Journal of Developmental Psychology, v60 n1 Article 4 p53-79 Jan 2014
Extending John Bowlby's hypothesis that dysfunctional anger is a predictable outcome of insecure attachments to parents, this study investigated the relationship between current parent-adolescent attachment and both the experience and expression of anger. Participants included 776 students (379 boys and 397 girls) in grades 8-12. As predicted by attachment theory, results of structural equation modeling analyses indicated that adolescents' self-reported attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance toward both mother and father figures were positively related to the adolescents' greater levels of self-reported anger intensity. In turn, greater intensity of anger was associated with higher levels of both internalizing (anger-in) and externalizing (anger-out) expressions. In addition, there was a direct effect of attachment anxiety on internalized but not externalized anger. This study highlights the importance of differentiating anger dimensions and the critical role of anger intensity as a mediator of the relationship between insecure attachment and anger expressions.
Descriptors: Psychological Patterns, Aggression, Attachment Behavior, Adolescent Attitudes, Secondary School Students, Foreign Countries, Attitude Measures, Psychometrics, Factor Analysis, Structural Equation Models, Hypothesis Testing, Gender Differences, Anxiety, Parents, Predictor Variables, Security (Psychology)
Wayne State University Press. The Leonard N. Simons Building, 4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309. Tel: 800-978-7323; Fax: 313-577-6131; Web site: http://wsupress.wayne.edu/journals/merrill/merrillj.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A