Abstract
This study examined the association between perceived quality of early parental bonding and loneliness of first-year university students in relation to two central personality-related conceptualizations, attachment and Blatt's (1990) primary personality predispositions. Participants were 146 undergraduate (69 males and 77 females), who completed the Parental Bonding Instrument, an attachment styles questionnaire, the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale in the middle of their first-year at university. As expected, parental care and secure attachment were negatively associated with loneliness, whereas ambivalent and avoidant attachment and self-criticism were positively correlated with loneliness. Ambivalence and self-criticism mediated in part the association between parental care and loneliness; self-criticism mediated in part the association between ambivalence and loneliness, yet both ambivalence and self-criticism uniquely predicted loneliness. Results are discussed in light of the related yet distinct contributions of attachment and personality vulnerabilities to the experience of loneliness.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 237-248 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Personality and Individual Differences |
Volume | 40 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2006 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by a grant from the Israel Foundations Trustees to the first author.
Keywords
- Attachment
- DEQ
- Loneliness
- Relationships with parents
- Self-criticism
- Transition to college
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Psychology