Secure attachment has been increasingly recognized as central to adaptive functioning over the life span. During the last two decades, researchers have clarified the role of attachment security in promoting psychological well-being during infancy and adulthood. Most recently, attention has turned toward understanding the role of attachment with parents to healthy adjustment during adolescence.
This paper presents a critical review of the research literature on the relation between attachment to parents during adolescence and social adjustment, and summarizes the recommendations for healthy parenting practices, government programming and research.
The primary focus of this project was to examine
developmental changes in parent-child relationships, and their
associations with child adjustment between late childhood and
mid-adolescence. These questions were addressed using data from two
large, nationally representative samples of Canadian children and
adolescents. Recommendations for healthy parenting practices and
government initiatives are summarized.
This paper includes a critical review of research literature linking relationships between parent/adolescent relationships, adolescent identity formation, and physical and emotional health within dimensions of the cultural context. We point out both what is known, and what needs be studied further. The paper is written with a culture-identity link and has its foundations within original conceptualizations offered by Erik H. Erikson and Margaret Mead and empirical research in sociology, psychology, family studies and other allied social and behavioural sciences. Recommendations for actions regarding what society, parents, and adolescents should know and do are provided.