Profiles of parent and peer attachments of adolescents and associations with psychological outcomes

By using a person-centered approach (i.e., latent profile analysis), this study examined possible groupings of adolescents as reflected by their parent and peer attachment scores in a sample of 941 adolescents in mainland China. The results showed that four groups with distinct parent and peer attachment profiles were identified, with different combinations of secure and insecure parent and peer attachments. The groups of adolescents as defined by these profiles were compared on positive psychological traits (resiliency, hope, and optimism), life satisfaction, psychological distress, and gender ratios. The findings showed that the adolescents with different profiles of parent and peer attachments significantly differed on positive psychological traits, life satisfaction, psychological distress, and gender ratios. The findings suggest that parent and peer attachments do not always go together, and adolescents may have different combinations of parent and peer attachments. These results should be taken into consideration in future studies concerning the impact of attachment on adolescents.