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Attachment Security and Character Strengths in Early Adolescence

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Abstract

Secure attachments to parents have been linked to social competence, but few studies address how attachment is related to character strengths. This study examined how attachment security is associated with a broad set of character strengths in early adolescence. In a mixed methods study with a sample of 10- to 14-year-olds (N = 92), we assessed attachment with the Friends and Family Interview, which was scored for markers of secure attachment. Children completed the Values in Action Inventory questionnaire of character strengths. More securely attached children more strongly endorsed Interpersonal Strengths (fairness, forgiveness, humor, and kindness), Temperance Strengths (honesty, persistence, and prudence), and the Transcendent Strength of spirituality. By contrast, secure attachment did not predict Intellectual Strengths (creativity, love of learning, appreciation of beauty). The findings show that secure attachments are associated with several character strengths, and future work could consider the foundational processes that account for these associations.

Highlights

  • Parent–child relationships are an important context in which school-age children develop their personal characteristics.

  • We tested whether secure attachments to mothers and fathers are both associated with character development in early adolescence.

  • More securely attached children were more fair, forgiving, humorous in social interaction, kind, honest, persistent, thoughtful in decision making, and spiritual compared to less securely attached children.

  • Many of the study findings are novel, and they point to areas where parents might be especially likely to influence children’s character development.

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Funding

The study was funded by the Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA

    Kathryn A. Kerns, Carli A. Obeldobel, Logan B. Kochendorfer & Marissa Gastelle

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  1. Kathryn A. Kerns
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  2. Carli A. Obeldobel
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  3. Logan B. Kochendorfer
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Correspondence to Kathryn A. Kerns.

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Kerns, K.A., Obeldobel, C.A., Kochendorfer, L.B. et al. Attachment Security and Character Strengths in Early Adolescence. J Child Fam Stud 32, 2789–2803 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02230-3

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