Abstract
Attachment theory has high potential for advancing a relational understanding of mentoring. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence that protégés develop attachments to mentors. The present manuscript provides this foundation by developing and validating a measure of attachment to mentors across five studies. In Study 1, we find qualitative evidence that protégés experience the four features of attachment in their relationships with mentors. In Study 2, we develop a pool of items to measure attachment to mentors and conduct content validation. In Studies 3a and 3b, we develop a multidimensional measure of attachment and conduct exploratory and confirmatory analyses. In Study 4, we replicate the factor structure and provide evidence of reliability and measurement invariance over time. Consistent with attachment theory, we find that attachment to mentors is related to, and empirically distinct from, mentor support, protégé work-related exploration, protégé attachment anxiety and avoidance, and relationship satisfaction in the hypothesized directions. Our findings support the application of attachment theory to mentoring relationships and provide an empirical foundation for future examination of the development, maintenance, and termination of attachment relationships in the work domain. Moreover, our work offers a new measurement tool and insights for assessing and developing mentoring relationships in practice.
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Data Availability
We are not able to make our data available due to IRB restrictions.
Notes
In retrospect, the training task was quite difficult to complete, as there were more constructs and more nuanced distinctions between constructs compared to prior research using an item sort task. For example, Colquitt et al. (2019) used only three constructs that were likely easier for participants to differentiate (work motivation, job satisfaction, and work location). In addition, the error message was non-specific and did not provide guidance on why a given item was a better match to a different construct. As a result, many participants returned the HIT after receiving the error message. We received feedback from motivated participants that they would have appreciated more training and feedback to better understand the nature of the task. To enhance retention rates, future research may consider more specific performance feedback and/or a video overview prior to the training task.
In the pre-registration, we also hypothesized that attachment to a mentor would be positively associated with, and empirically distinct from, mentoring relationship length and mentor contact frequency. These hypotheses were grounded in prior research finding that attachments are stronger in longer relationships (Feeney, 2004; Fraley & Davis, 1997; Hazan & Zeifman, 1994; Rosenthal & Kobak, 2010; Trinke & Bartholomew, 1997), and when attached persons have more frequent contact with a potential attachment figure (Feeney, 2004; Rosenthal & Kobak, 2010), and in the idea that relationships that involve more frequent contact over longer periods provide more opportunities for the co-activation of the attachment and caregiving systems to occur (Duemmler & Kobak, 2001). However, in earlier drafts of the paper, we received feedback that our theorizing would benefit from greater focus on constructs implicated in attachment theory and that the paper needed to be shortened. Therefore, we dropped these hypotheses from the manuscript. Mentoring relationship length was positively associated with attachment as expected (ρCFA = .21, 95% CI [.10, .32], p < .001). However, the association between attachment and contact frequency was nonsignificant (ρCFA = .09, 95% CI [-.02, .20], p = 0.12).
In the pre-registration, Hypotheses 3 and 4 proposed that reliability would be “high” and Hypothesis 5 proposed that the relation between the Attachment to Mentors scale and the Attachment Features and Functions scale would be “strong”. We received feedback in the peer review process that these terms lacked precision; therefore, we revised Hypotheses 3 and 4 to reflect conventional reliability criteria (.80 or greater) and used cutoffs provided by Rönkkö and Cho (2020), who argued that an interfactor correlation of .90 or greater between two scales may indicate that the scales are measuring the same construct.
We made four types of modifications to the original MRI. First, because our focus was on mentors’ support behaviors, we modified items to ensure that they focused on mentors’ behaviors, rather than protégés’ general perceptions of the mentor. Second, we slightly modified items that assumed the mentor and protégé worked for the same organization. Third, we generated new counseling and friendship items that were more closely aligned with Kram's (1988) original theoretical work. In Kram’s (1988) theory, counseling occurs when mentors provide “a forum in which to talk openly about anxieties, fears, and ambivalence”; protégés “explore [their] concerns with a trusted other who empathizes because of similar experiences” (p.36–37). In the original MRI, two of the three counseling items reflected mentors’ guidance for the protégé’s development, which was conceptually similar to the coaching function. In addition, in Kram’s (1988) theory, friendship is characterized by “social interactions…and enjoyable informal exchanges about work and outside work experiences” (p.18), whereas the original friendship items reflected protégés’ perceptions of mentors’ general supportiveness. Finally, consistent with prior research (e.g., Eby et al., 2004), we omitted the Social and Parent subscales of psychosocial mentoring because these dimensions were not present in Kram’s (1988) theory and did not represent mentor support behaviors. All original and modified items are shown in Table S3.
Alternative models included 1) a one-factor model, 2) a two-factor (career and psychosocial support) model, 3) a nine-factor model, 4) a two-second-order (career and psychosocial) model with nine first-factors, 5) a one-second-order factor model with nine first-order factors, and 6) a one-second-order factor model with eight first-order factors. We also ran results using the eight-factor model; results were consistent with those presented in the manuscript.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Chris Agnew, Ximena Arriaga, Lillian Eby, Jordan Matthew, Bradley Pitcher, Victoria Scotney, Chelsea Song, Nicole Strah, Louis Tay, and Rick Yang for serving as subject matter experts. We also thank Asher Denny for his assistance with processing participant incentives.
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Appendix
Study 1 open-ended questions
Question | Prompt |
|---|---|
Overall relationship evaluation | Please use this space to reflect on how you feel about your mentor and your relationship overall. Please provide some examples to inform your description of your relationship with your mentor |
Proximity seeking | All relationships require maintenance–efforts to stay connected and ensure that the relationship remains close - How do you usually maintain your relationship with your mentor? - Please provide some examples of times when you have made efforts to stay close to your mentor |
Safe haven | Everyone experiences distress sometimes–you might sometimes feel threatened, anxious, or upset, at work or outside of work - When you are feeling distressed, how do you usually interact with your mentor? - Please provide some examples of times when you have felt distressed and interacted with your mentor |
Separation distress | Sometimes mentors are unavailable to us. They might be too busy, on vacation, or just more interested in other things - How do you usually feel and react when your mentor is unavailable to you? - Please provide some examples of times when your mentor was unavailable to you |
Secure base | Sometimes it can be useful to have a mentor just to know that someone is there for you if you need them. Think about the times when you felt your mentor was someone you could count on to be there for you, if you needed them - How do you usually feel about your mentor and your relationship during these times? - Please provide some examples of times when you have felt your mentor was there for you if needed |
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Robertson, M.M., Zhang, F. Attachment in Mentoring Relationships. J Bus Psychol 39, 593–618 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-023-09914-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-023-09914-7