The role of attachment as a predictor of social and cognitive competence: Peer relations and academic achievement

The purpose of this study was to examine the relevance of an adolescent's attachment style in relation to parents for predicting and for understanding adolescents' academic achievement and peer relationships. Of specific interest are relations between avoidant attachment and competence. This study compared 206 high school students (89.3% were Asian, 6.8% were Caucasian, and 3.9% were Hispanic) who are either secure, avoidant/insecure or anxious/insecure in their attachment style to parents. Results showed that the secure attachment group shows the highest adolescents' academic achievements and the most supportive peer relationships. Results also suggested that avoidant/insecure adolescents do not differ from the secure group and also achieve strong academic performance and satisfying peer-relationships, though not at the level of securely attached adolescents. No gender differences in attachment style were found while gender differences in academic achievement fell short of significance. Findings are interpreted to suggest that avoidantly attached adolescents may have made the most of compensatory coping strategies to overcome the deficiencies resulting from their parental attachment styles. These results highlight the need for clinicians, educators and the public to acknowledge the strengths of avoidantly attached children, as a way to support this disadvantaged group in their ability to move beyond the hardships of their infancy, and move toward academic and social competence.