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Exploring the Association Between Insecure Attachment Styles and Adolescent Autonomy in Family Decision Making: A Differentiated Approach

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Abstract

The present investigation focuses on the associations between adolescents’ insecure attachment styles (i.e., anxiety and avoidance) and their autonomous functioning in family decision making. In line with recent insights in the construct of adolescent autonomy, we combined two perspectives on autonomy, differentiating between the degree of independent versus dependent functioning and the self-endorsed and pressuring motives underlying (in)dependent functioning. A longitudinal sample of 327 adolescents (age range = 13–20 years; 64 % girls) completed questionnaires on attachment to the mother and father and on both autonomy operationalisations on two measurement moments spanning a 1-year interval. Structural equation modeling showed that attachment avoidance generally was unrelated to the degree of independent decision making and the motives underlying independent decision making, but related to more pressuring motives for dependent decision making. Anxiety, on the other hand, was associated with a lower degree of independent decision making as well as with more pressuring motives for both independent and dependent decision making. Cross-lagged paths were generally in line with these findings. Theoretical implications are outlined in the discussion.

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Notes

  1. The distinction between emotional, behavioral and cognitive autonomy (e.g., Steinberg 2002) especially pertains to the definition of autonomy as independence. It is argued that the proposed distinction between independence versus self-endorsed functioning can be made in each of these domains (Soenens and Beyers 2012; Van Petegem et al. 2012b).

  2. There are also other factors that qualify the association between independent decision making and adolescents’ adjustment, such as the content of the topics about which adolescents decide independently (cf. social domain theory, Smetana et al. 2004). However, this issue is beyond the scope of the present investigation.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Grant 3F009009 from the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO).

Author contributions

SVP coordinated the project, conceived of the study, participated in the design, coordinated the data collection, analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. WB participated in the study design, helped in the interpretation of the data and in drafting the manuscript. KB helped in the design of the study, in the collection and interpretation of the data and in drafting the manuscript. MV participated in the study design and in drafting and finalizing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Stijn Van Petegem, Wim Beyers, Katrijn Brenning & Maarten Vansteenkiste

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  1. Stijn Van Petegem
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  2. Wim Beyers
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  3. Katrijn Brenning
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  4. Maarten Vansteenkiste
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Correspondence to Stijn Van Petegem.

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Van Petegem, S., Beyers, W., Brenning, K. et al. Exploring the Association Between Insecure Attachment Styles and Adolescent Autonomy in Family Decision Making: A Differentiated Approach. J Youth Adolescence 42, 1837–1846 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9886-0

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