Measuring Continued Attachment to Parents: The Continued Attachment Scale—Parent Version

Abstract

Continued attachment to parents has correlated with measures of adjustment in both school and peer situations at least through the transition to college. The measurement of parental attachment has relied primarily on self-reports of the quality of the parental relationship in terms of support, encouragement, autonomy, and dependency. Bowlby's original theory and research relied more on reactions to separation, which Berman called “attachment distress” in adults. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Continued Attachment Scale—Parent version which measures cognitive and emotional responses to the perceived separation from parents. Data from 216 college students were collected on the scale as well as several scales selected to evaluate convergent and construct validities. The scale showed good reliability. Scores were highly correlated with attachment scale scores that measure support, encouragement, and closeness. Correlations with measures of emotional state and personality differed for men and women but generally suggested that the scale assesses a distinct domain of experience related to continued closeness to parents and to depression.