Introduction
Close relationships and secure attachments play a vital role in human development and well-being across the lifespan. The emotional bonds formed between children and their primary caregivers lay the foundation for future relationships, self-concept, emotion regulation abilities, and overall mental health (Bowlby, 2008; Sroufe, 2015). A large body of research has demonstrated the importance of developing a secure attachment in infancy and childhood for positive long-term outcomes. When children experience sensitive, responsive care that meets their needs for safety, comfort, and support from caregivers, they tend to form secure attachments characterized by trust that attachment figures will be available when needed (Ainsworth et al., 2015). In contrast, children who experience inconsistent, unresponsive, or rejecting care from caregivers are more likely to develop insecure attachment patterns reflecting anxiety about the availability of the caregiver or avoidant tendencies to limit emotional intimacy and self-reliance (Main & Solomon, 1990).
The quality of early attachments has far-reaching implications for children’s emotional, social, and cognitive development that extend into adolescence and adulthood. According to attachment theory, secure attachment relationships provide children with a “secure base” that allows them to explore their environment with confidence and a “safe haven” to return to for reassurance and comfort when distressed (Bowlby, 2008). Beyond the benefits in areas like emotion regulation and peer relationships (e.g., Brumariu, 2015; Groh et al., 2014), some researchers have suggested that secure attachments may facilitate the internalization of parental values, norms, and principles that shape children’s developing morality, conscience, and overall character (Grusec, 2011).
Character encompasses the positive traits, values, and behaviors that enable individuals to thrive and make positive contributions to society (Park & Peterson, 2006; Lerner et al., 2018). While historically the study of character has roots in philosophy and moral education, in recent decades, there has been a resurgence of scientific interest in understanding character through the lens of positive psychology (Seligman et al., 2005). Efforts to conceptualize and measure character have identified a range of widely valued strengths such as honesty, perseverance, kindness, creativity, gratitude, and appreciation of beauty (Park et al., 2004; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). These character strengths are considered universal across cultures, contribute to individual well-being and positive relationships, and represent the psychological mechanisms that manifest virtues like wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence (Park et al., 2006).
The development of good character in children and adolescents has long been a goal of parents, educators, and societies at large. However, while theories of moral development and character education emphasize the importance of the family environment and parent-child relationships, empirical research connecting specific qualities of these relationships to youth character development remains relatively limited (Berkowitz & Bier, 2005). The present study aims to address this gap by examining how the quality of parent-child attachment relationships, a core construct in theories of socio-emotional development, is associated with a range of character strengths in early adolescence.
Theoretical Foundations: Attachment Theory and Character Development
Attachment theory, originally formulated by John Bowlby (2008), provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the nature and significance of the emotional bonds between children and their caregivers. According to the theory, infants have an innate psychobiological system (the attachment behavioral system) that motivates them to seek proximity to supportive caregivers, especially in times of need or distress. Through repeated interactions with caregivers, children form internal working models- cognitive-affective representations of self and others – that shape expectations and behaviors in subsequent relationships. When caregivers are consistently available and responsive, securely attached children learn that others are reliable sources of comfort and support. They develop complementary models of self as valuable and models of others as trustworthy. In contrast, insecure attachment patterns emerge when caregivers are unresponsive or inconsistent in their availability and support (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016). Insecurely attached children may view themselves as unworthy of care (anxious attachment) or adopt defensive strategies of excessive self-reliance and disregard for intimacy (avoidant attachment).
The internal working models formed in the context of early caregiver relationships are theorized to have a long-lasting impact by shaping children’s approach to relationships and capacity for self-regulation across developmental periods and relationship contexts (Dykas & Cassidy, 2011). A wealth of empirical data demonstrates links between attachment security and adaptive outcomes across domains of social competence, emotional health, self-regulation, and academic achievement (e.g., Groh et al., 2021; Sayedi et al., 2017; Bendel-Stenzel et al., 2022). Leading attachment researchers have proposed that the supportive relational context of attachment security provides a foundation for the development of positive characteristics and virtues (Thompson, 2006).
While attachment theory did not explicitly address character development, there are compelling reasons to expect associations between attachment and character strengths. Secure parent-child relationships create an environment conducive to the socialization of moral values and character strengths (Grusec, 2011). Through supportive discipline, modeling, and discussions of ethics, securely attached children may more readily internalize virtues like honesty and fairness endorsed by caregivers and society.
Empirical Evidence: Links between Attachment and Character Strengths
While theoretical formulations suggest links between attachment and character development, empirical evidence relating specific attachment patterns to a wide range of character strengths in childhood and adolescence remains limited. However, studies provide initial support for associations in particular strength domains.
Several studies indicate that secure attachment fosters interpersonal strengths that enable positive social functioning. More securely attached children tend to demonstrate more empathy, emotional understanding, and social competence in relationships with peers (Pallini et al., 2014). They are more highly accepted and better liked by peers compared to insecurely attached children (Groh et al., 2014). Furthermore, secure children exhibit more cooperative, socially appropriate behavior and less hostility or aggression in interactions with others.
Secure attachment predicts higher academic achievement in meta-analyses (Kerns et al., 2022), which requires strengths like curiosity and a love of learning. Additionally, more coherent attachment representations forecast greater ego resiliency and openness to experience, which may enable creativity and appreciation of complexity (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016). However, measures of specific intellectual strengths like creativity have yet to be investigated.
Some initial evidence also hints at possible connections between attachment and spirituality as a transcendent strength. More securely attached youth and adults report greater trait gratitude and appreciation of life’s positives (Izzo et al., 2022), suggesting a proclivity to see the sacred in experiences. Secure individuals also display heightened hope and meaningfulness in both adversity and daily life (Darling et al., 2022), which may reflect spirituality’s capacity to imbue existence with significance. However, few studies have assessed how attachment relates to children’s reported spirituality directly.
In summary, theory and initial evidence suggest that secure attachments may facilitate the development of various interpersonal, temperance, and potentially transcendent character strengths. However, the empirical literature examining attachment associations across a comprehensive range of character strengths during childhood and adolescence remains quite limited.
The Present Study
The present study aims to provide a foundational investigation into how attachment security relates to a wide array of character strengths in early adolescence. This stage of development represents a unique period to examine character given normative declines in moral behavior during ages 10-14 (Groh et al., 2021). Despite increases in cognitive capacities, early adolescents often fail to uphold moral principles and engage in greater selfishness, peer cruelty, and rule violations compared to younger children. This trend has been linked to factors like greater time spent in unsupervised peer contexts, egocentrism, and identity development (Bendel-Stenzel et al., 2022). However, youth displaying strong personal character and virtues may prove more resistant to such normative amoral trends.
In light of this reality, examining potential sources of individual differences in character development during early adolescence takes on greater importance. If secure attachment relationships indeed create an environmental context more conducive to developing positive traits like empathy, self-control, and pro-sociality that comprise good character, such individual differences in attachment could help account for variation in character strengths and inform preventive interventions.
The primary aim of this study was to test whether secure attachment to parents, assessed through narrative-based representational measures, predicts greater endorsement of character strengths in 10-14-year-olds, spanning the interpersonal, temperance, intellectual, and transcendent domains. Based on theory and prior empirical work, we hypothesized that more secure attachment would be associated with greater interpersonal (fairness, forgiveness, kindness, humor, social intelligence) and temperance (honesty, perseverance, prudence) strengths. We explored associations with intellectual strengths (love of learning, creativity, appreciation of beauty) and spirituality without specific hypotheses due to limited prior research on these links. We examined associations with individual character strengths as well as broad virtue domains. Additionally, we controlled for established predictors of character development (gender, IQ, temperament) to isolate attachment’s unique effects.
This study represents an initial step toward understanding how core developmental processes emphasized in attachment theory relate to outcomes of great societal importance – the development of widely valued traits and virtues that promote personal thriving and moral and civic engagement. Results could advance knowledge about factors shaping positive youth development and inform efforts by parents, educators, and communities to cultivate character strengths that foster young people’s well-being and contribution to a caring, ethical society.
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