Parental attachment and romantic relationships: Associations with emotional disturbance during late adolescence

In this study, the authors examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between late adoles-cents ’ parental attachment and emotional disturbance. Specifically, they investigated whether associa-tions between parental attachment and emotional disturbance were less strong for adolescents with romantic partners, and whether the quality and duration of romantic relationships were related to adolescents ’ emotional disturbance. Data were collected from 568 adolescents, ages 15–19, interviewed in 1994 and 1997. Cross-sectional analyses showed significant associations between parental attachment and emotional disturbance, but no systematic longitudinal relationships were found. Links cross-sectionally, but not longitudinally, between parental attachment and emotional disturbance were less strong for youths with romantic partners. Neither the quality nor the duration of romantic relationships was related to emotional disturbance in this age group. Although previous notions that childhood experiences have an overriding and irreversible effect on individual adjustment later in life have been abandoned (Shaffer, 2000), the quality of parent– child bonds is still believed to exert an important influence (Sroufe, Carlson, Levy, & Egeland, 1999). Empirical evidenc