This study used data from 75 adolescent mothers to examine relations among adolescent mothers’ attachment avoidance and anxiety, their ability to trust their child’s father, and their perceptions of the quality of their coparenting relationship with their child’s father. Results suggest that mothers with lower avoidance had more trust for their child’s father and also had coparenting relationships characterized by less conflict and a stronger parenting alliance. Moreover, trust mediated the associations between mother’s avoidance and coparenting quality. In contrast, mothers’ attachment anxiety was not associated with trust for their child’s father or their perceptions of coparenting relationship quality. This study provides evidence that adolescent mothers’ relationship histories may play an important role in the quality of the coparenting relationship they have with their child’s father.
Abidin, R.R., & Brunner, J.F. ( 1995). Development of a Parenting Alliance Inventory. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 24, 31-40.
2.
Ahrons, C.R. ( 1981). The continuing coparental relationship between divorced spouses. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 51, 415-428.
3.
Amin, R., & Ahmed, J. ( 2004). Unwed adolescent fathers: Their involvement in the lives of adolescent mothers and their children. The Negro Educational Review, 55, 187-195.
4.
Banse, R. ( 2004). Adult attachment and marital satisfaction: Evidence for dyadic configuration effects. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21, 273-282.
5.
Baron, R.M., & Kenny, D.A. ( 1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
6.
Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L.M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226-244.
7.
Belsky, J., Putnam, S., & Crnic, K. ( 1996). Coparenting, parenting, and early emotional development . In J. P. McHale & P. A. Cowan (Eds.), Understanding how family-level dynamics affect children’s development: Studies of two-parent families: Vol. 74. New directions for child development (pp. 45-55). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
8.
Bowlby, J. ( 1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
9.
Bowlby, J. ( 1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books .
10.
Brennan, K.A., Clark, C.L., & Shaver, P.R. ( 1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46-76). New York: Guilford.
11.
Bretherton, I., & Munholland, K.A. (1999). Internal working models in attachment relationships. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 89-111). New York: Guilford.
12.
Britton, P.C., & Fuendeling, J.M. (2005). The relations among varieties of adult attachment and the components of empathy. Journal of Social Psychology, 145, 519-530.
13.
Campbell, L., Simpson, J.A., Boldry, J., & Kashy, D.A. ( 2005). Perceptions of conflict and support in romantic relationships: The role of attachment anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 510-531.
14.
Cohen, R.S., & Weissman, S.H. (1984). The parenting alliance . In R. Cohen, B. Cohler, & S. Weissman (Eds.), Parenthood: A psychodynamic perspective (pp. 33-49). New York: Guilford.
15.
Cole, D.A., & Maxwell, S.E. ( 2003). Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: Questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 558-577.
16.
Coley, R.L., & Chase-Lansdale, L. (1998). Adolescent pregnancy and parenthood: Recent evidence and future directions. American Psychologist, 53, 152-166.
17.
Doherty, W.J., & Beaton, J.M. ( 2004). Mothers and fathers parenting together. In A. L. Vangelisti (Ed.), Handbook of family communication (pp. 269-286). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
18.
Feeney, J.A. ( 1999). Adult romantic attachment and couple relationships. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 355-377). New York: Guilford.
19.
Feeney, J.A., Alexander, R., Noller, P., & Holhaus, L. ( 2003). Attachment insecurity, depression, and the transition to parenthood. Personal Relationships, 10, 475-493.
20.
Feinberg, M.E. ( 2003). The internal structure and ecological context of coparenting: A framework for research and intervention. Parenting: Science and Practice, 3, 95-131.
21.
Finkel, E.J., Burnette, J.L., & Scissors, L.E. (2007). Vengefully ever after: Destiny beliefs, state attachment anxiety, and forgiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 871-886.
22.
Fraley, R.C., & Shaver, P.R. ( 2000). Adult romantic attachment: Theoretical developments, emerging controversies, and unanswered questions. Review of General Psychology, 4, 132-154.
23.
Fraley, R.C., & Waller, N.G. ( 1998). Adult attachment patterns: A test of the typological model. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 77-114). New York: Guilford.
24.
Futris, T.G., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S.J. (2007). Mothers’ perceptions of barriers, parenting alliance, and adolescent fathers’ engagement with their children. Family Relations, 56, 258-269.
25.
Gallo, L.C., & Smith, T.W. ( 2001). Attachment style in marriage: Adjustment and responses to interaction. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 18, 263-289.
26.
Gee, C.B., & Rhodes, J.E. ( 2003). Adolescent mothers’ relationship with their children’s biological fathers: Social support, social strain, and relationship continuity . Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 370-383.
27.
Granqvist, P., & Hagekull, B. ( 2001). Seeking security in the new age: On attachment and emotional compensation. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion , 40, 527-545.
28.
The Guttmacher Institute. (2006). U.S. teenage pregnancy statistics national and state trends and trends by race and ethnicity. New York: Author .
29.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P.R. ( 1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511-524.
30.
Herzog, M.J., Umaña-Taylor, A.J., Madden-Derdich, D.A., & Leonard, S.A. ( 2007). Adolescent mothers’ perceptions of fathers’ parental involvement: Satisfaction and desire for involvement. Family Relations, 56, 244-257.
31.
Joo, E. ( 2005). Attachment styles of female parenting and nonparenting adolescents. Dissertation Abstracts International, 66, 3465.
32.
Kilmann, P.R., Urbaniak, G.C., & Parnell, M.M. ( 2006). Effects of attachment-focused versus relationship skills-focused group interventions for college students with insecure attachment patterns . Attachment and Human Development, 8, 47-62.
33.
Klein, J.D., & the Committee on Adolescence. ( 2005). Adolescent pregnancy: Current trends and issues. Pediatrics, 116, 281-286.
34.
Kurdek, L.A. ( 2002). On being insecure about the assessment of attachment styles. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 19, 811-834.
35.
Larzelere, R.E., & Huston, T.L. ( 1980). The Dyadic Trust Scale: Toward understanding interpersonal trust in close relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 42, 595-604.
36.
Letourneau, N.L., Stewart, M.J., & Barnfather, A.K. (2004). Adolescent mothers: Support needs, resources, and support-education interventions. Journal of Adolescent Health, 35, 509-525.
37.
Lewis, C., & Lamb, M.E. ( 2003). Fathers’ influences on children’s development: The evidence from two-parent families. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 18, 212-228.
38.
McBride, B.A., & Rane, T.R. ( 1998). Parenting alliance as a predictor of father involvement: An exploratory study. Family Relations, 47, 229-237.
39.
McHale, J., Khazan, I., Erera, P., Rotman, T., DeCourcey, W., & McConnell, M. ( 2002). Coparenting in diverse family systems. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (2nd ed., pp. 75-107). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
40.
Mikulincer, M. ( 1998). Attachment working models and the sense of trust: An exploration of interaction goals and affect regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1209-1224.
41.
Mikulincer, M., & Florian, V. ( 1999). The association between spouses’ self-reports of attachment styles and representations of family dynamics. Family Process, 38, 69-83.
42.
Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., Cowan, P., & Cowan, C. ( 2002). Attachment security in couple relationships: A systemic model and its implications for family dynamics. Family Process , 41, 405-434.
43.
Pistole, M.C. ( 1993). Attachment relationships: Self-disclosure and trust. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 15, 94-106.
44.
Rholes, W.S., Simpson, J.A., Campbell, L., & Grich, J. ( 2001). Adult attachment and the transition to parenthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 421-435.
45.
Rholes, W.S., Simpson, J.A., & Friedman, M. ( 2006). Avoidant attachment and the experience of parenting. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 52, 275-285.
46.
Schmitt, D.P. ( 2003). Are men universally more dismissing than women? Gender differences in romantic attachment across 62 cultural regions. Personal Relationships, 10, 307-331.
47.
Schoppe, S.J., Mangelsdorf, S.C., & Frosch, C.A. ( 2001). Coparenting, family process, and family structure: Implications for preschoolers’ externalizing behavior problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 526-545.
48.
Simpson, J.A. ( 1990). Influence of attachment on romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 971-980.
49.
Simpson, J.A. ( 2007). Psychological foundations of trust. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 264-268.
50.
Simpson, J.A., & Rholes, W.S. ( 2002). Attachment orientations, marriage, and the transition to parenthood. Journal of Research in Personality, 36, 622-628.
51.
Simpson, J.A., Rholes, W.S., Campbell, L., Tran, S., & Wilson, C.L. ( 2003). Adult attachment, the transition to parenthood, and depressive symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1172-1187.
52.
Simpson, J.A., Rholes, W.S., & Phillips, D. ( 1996). Conflict in close relationships: An attachment perspective . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 899-914.
53.
Sobel, M.E. ( 1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models. In S. Leinhart (Ed.), Sociological methodology (pp. 290-312). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
54.
Sobolewski, J.M., & King, V. ( 2005). The importance of the coparental relationship for nonresident fathers’ ties to children. Journal of Marriage and Family , 67, 1196-1212.
55.
Van Egeren, L.A., & Hawkins, D.P. ( 2004). Coming to terms with coparenting: Implications of definition and measurement. Journal of Adult Development, 11, 165-178.
56.
Van Laningham, J., Johnson, D.R., & Amato, P. ( 2001). Marital happiness, marital duration, and the U-shaped curve: Evidence from a five-wave panel study. Social Forces , 79, 1313-1341.
57.
Waters, E., Merrick, S., Treboux, D., Crowell, J., & Albersheim, L. (2000). Attachment security in infancy and early adulthood: A twenty-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 71, 684-689.
