This study examined the relationship between parental provision of attachment relations with early adolescents on parents' emotional and marital adjustment. A sample of 47 families composed of the mother, father, and early adolescent son (n = 20) or daughter (n = 27) participated in this study. Families were assessed on three separate occasions at 6-month intervals: the end of sixth grade, the first 2 months of seventh grade (involved a transition into a junior high school), and the end of seventh grade. The results revealed significant negative correlations between parents' attachment relations and measures of parents' emotional and marital adjustment. In addition, the strength of the relationship between measures of emotional and marital adjustment with attachment changed significantly across times of measurement, especially for the father The discussion emphasizes the need to consider the parental implications of attachment relations during the transitional periods that characterize early adolescence.
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