Psychological separateness and parental attachment as predictors of Black students' psychological resilience and adjustment to college
Item
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Title
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Psychological separateness and parental attachment as predictors of Black students' psychological resilience and adjustment to college
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:3306c2f237c2:10406
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identifier
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10317
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Creator
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Shepard, Alice Rebecca,
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Contributor
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Arietta Slade
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Date
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2009
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Clinical psychology | African American studies | Black studies | Individual & family studies | Adjustment | African-American | Black | College | Resilience | Student
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Abstract
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This study examined the role that psychological separation and parental attachment has in the ability of Black college students to be resilient and to adjust during their beginning time at college. Counseling and psychological service centers on college campuses in the U.S. are seeing a surge in students seeking treatment (Benton, Robertson, Tseng, Newton & Benton, 2003; Kitzrow, 2003). Psychoanalytic and attachment theories are currently being considered in order to gain better insight into students' distress (Robbins, 1989). Going off to college has been equated with a naturally occurring 'strange situation' similar to that created in Mary Ainsworth's pivotal research on childhood attachment (Kenny, 1987), and late adolescence is being considered as the second time point for Margaret Mahler's theory of separation-individuation in infancy (Blos, 1979). Several studies have shown that students who enjoy a better level of psychological separation from their parents and who also have a better quality of attachment to their parents experience reduced stress, a greater sense of well-being, and have an overall easier time adjusting to college (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987; Kenny & Perez, 1996).;There were 52 Black college students who participated in this study. All of the students were either freshmen or sophomores and all attended a predominantly White institution. There were two predictor variables one for psychological separation and one for parental attachment. There were three outcome variables, two for resilience, psychological well-being and minority status stress, and one for college adjustment. Each variable was measured by a corresponding self-report survey. Emotional independence from mothers, an aspect of psychological separation, was the most telling predictor for success in terms of improved psychological resilience and college adjustment. In contrast, functional independence from mothers, also an aspect of psychological separation, was associated with increased minority status stress and poor college adjustment. Lastly, secure attachment to mother, an aspect of parental attachment, was indicative of good college adjustment. The implications of these findings for parents, counselors, and college preparatory organization, are addressed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
