Overview
This essay considers a number of important issues concerning attachment during adolescence. It begins with a short historical description of attachment theory and its development, the importance of studying attachment during adolescence, and relevant measurement issues. Next, it examines the source of individual differences in quality of attachment, changes in quality of attachment during adolescence, and the connection between attachment and adolescent psychosocial (mal) adjustment.
Key Definitions
A general definition of attachment is an enduring affectional bond of substantial intensity (Ainsworth 1989). Two names that are almost synonymous with attachment theory are those of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Both have provided indispensable contributions to attachment theory as it still stands today. Bowlby represented the theoretical force behind attachment theory, and Ainsworth provided valuable empirical corroboration. Bowlby theorized that human infants have a natural...
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Buist, K.L. (2016). Attachment During Adolescence. In: Levesque, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_4-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_4-2
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