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Received: 7 October 2008 / Accepted: 14 January 2009 / Published online: 28 January 2009
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009
Abstract The current study examined the process by which attachment to parents influences satisfaction with and ease in forming friendships at college. One hundred seventy-two female college freshmen completed a measure of parental attachment security the summer before their first semester of college (July 2006) and measures to assess satisfaction with and ease in forming close relationships at the end of their first semester (December 2006). Students ranged in age from 18 to 20 years (M = 18.09, SD = 0.33) and were diverse in their racial makeup (30% racial minority). Consistent with predictions derived from attachment theory, secure attachment to parents was positively associated with ease in forming friendships among racial minority and white participants and satisfaction with friendships among minority participants. Moreover, indirect effects of parental attachment security on relationship outcomes through social anxiety were significant for minority participants but not for white participants. Findings may be useful in the development of retention programs targeted at incoming university freshmen, particularly minority students.
Keywords Attachment * Friendship * Social anxiety * College
Introduction
Previous research has demonstrated that positive close relationships with peers are related to adaptation to college, academic achievement, college retention rates, and well-being among college students (Abby et al. 1985; Brooks and DuBois 1995; Fass and Tubman 2002; Zea et al. 1995). Thus, it is important to identify precursors of positive friendships among college students. Bowlby (1969) postulated that children whose needs for safety and protection are consistently met by their parents develop a secure attachment to their parents that would be linked to the quality of subsequent close relationships, and recent evidence supports this view (Roisman et al. 2005). However, the process by which attachment to parents influences other relationships is not fully understood. Previous research indicates that parental attachment security is linked to social anxiety (Papini et al. 1991), which in turn is linked to relationship quality (La Greca and Lopez 1998). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine social anxiety as a mediator of the relationship between attachment to parents prior to college and satisfaction with and ease in forming close relationships at the...