Attachment, conflict management and adjustment to college.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The college years are a time when individuals are trying to explore and establish their own identity and independence, form meaningful relationships, and meet the academic and social demands of the environment. The college experience, with its new social situations and novel ideologies, provides potential sources of interpersonal conflict that could stimulate developmental crises of late adolescence. The ways in which individuals handle interpersonal conflict situations may facilitate or hinder their adjustment and development.
Research has shown that both attachment and conflict variables have been associated with adjustment of college student populations, and attachment style has been found to be predictive of conflict management strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among attachment, conflict style and college adjustment to further our understanding of and improve interventions with college students. Specifically, the study was intended to assist in identifying which students would be most at risk for academic and career problems, poor mental health, and difficulties relating to others. Participants were 229 predominantly White undergraduate students enrolled in a large Mid-Atlantic state university. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The current findings could help identify and target students for interventions and determine which interventions might be best suited for particular students.
Overall, the results of this study suggested that attachment was associated with adjustment to college and that in some areas conflict management may add to the prediction of college adjustment. More specifically, attachment was predictive of anxiety, depression, interpersonal problems, family problems, academic problems, and career problems. Conflict management style contributed to the prediction of anxiety, depression, and academic problems. Given the increasing concern for budgetary restrictions in institutions across the country, the option of intervening with students experiencing difficulties by means of psychoeducational groups focusing on facilitating healthy attachment and enhancing conflict management and resolution, might be feasible and cost-efficient. More research should be conducted to more fully explicate the role of attachment and conflict management style on psychological health.