The Marriage Library

Adolescent Attachment and its Potential Compensating Mechanisms

Introduction
Until recently, family researchers have shied away from the chaotic whirlwind of the teenage years, focusing instead on infant/child attachments (Bowlby, 1980) and how they affect adult relationships (Behrens, 1999; Crowell, 2005.) They posit that secure attachment is developmentally vital and that without it a child will flounder in adult relationships (Campisano, 2004). But, by skipping over the teenage years, researchers have ignored one of the most insecure and developmentally important times of a person’s life. Some, however, have begun to fill the gap by studying how parent/adolescent attachments predict couple outcomes (Overbeek, 2003). However, this is no longer enough with the radical changes in the nuclear family, namely the exponential increase in divorce (Cherlin, 2004). These adolescents can no longer rely on their parents for their firm support base. This recent change stretches the murky hole of adolescent security and attachments to frightening proportions.

In an effort to fill this chasm, this paper presents a study of how different attachments in adolescence can furnish teen’s need for relationship and belonging. Specifically, I address whether a lack of healthy relationships with parents can be sufficiently replaced with peer or romantic partner affiliations. I hypothesize that teens often try to find security in these other individuals; however, they are not adequate compensating mechanisms and have primarily negative consequences.

Though adolescence is a time of ambiguous turmoil, there is much that the family science field can do to help. Considering how greatly these years affect later outcomes, it seems crucial that researchers turn their attention toward these troubles. Although important, it is not just a matter of saving a few adolescent’s lives. These teens are the future parents of the next generation, with the capacity to nourish and build or to ignorantly neglect and flounder. It is an arduous task for parents to teach their children confidence and security if they do not feel it themselves. Additionally, adults with insecure attachments have a greater likelihood for divorce (Crowell, 2009).Thus, therapists and researchers alike need to explicate whether trouble-bound teens can use peer and romantic partners to healthily make up for their failing parental relationships.  (more…)