This study assessed the relationship of parental attachment and gender to appraisals of conflict with parents in an qfort to clariJy the psychological mechanisms that mediate the relationship between attachment and psychological well-being. Appraisals of conflict with parents were found to be related to level of attachment and genderMany college counselors believe that the psychological difficulties students bring to counseling have developmental roots in dysfunctional interactions with parents and other primary caregivers. Interpersonal and object-relations theorists have long maintained that adolescent and adult functioning is formed within early child-caregiver relationships (Fairbairn, 1 952; Klein, 1 964; Mahler, 1 963; Winnicott, 1 965), and there is considerable agreement that important developmental tasks of adolescence and early adulthood find their resolution in the context of Family relationships (Lapsley, Rice, & FitzGerald, 1990). It probably comes as no surprise to college counselors that students with a less secure family base may experience more adjustment diFficulties in college. College counseling centers are reporting surprising numbers of students who seek counseling services regarding abuse and other stressful family-of-origin issues (Braver, Bumberry, Green, & Rawson, 1992; Gilbert, 1992).What is perhaps less clear is how college counselors can effectively assist students whose presenting complaints either directly or indirectly involve family-of-origin issues, particularly in the current climate of session limits, brief therapy, and shrinking resources that exists on many college campuses ( long been credited for their effectiveness in treating emotional disorders in a relatively short time (for a review see tipsey & Wilson, 1993), but these approaches have sometimes been criticized for neglecting the important role of historical factors, which can cause and prolong clients' presenting problems. However, the developmental origins of psychological difficulties have become a salient aspect of cognitive approaches to counseling (Butterfield, Albertson, &Johnston, 1995; Lyddon & Alford, 1993;Mahoney, 1991 ), and Bradford and Lyddon ( 1 993) have recently suggested that an important conceptual link common to these developmentally based forms of cognitive therapy is attachment theory (Ainsworth, 1989; Bowlby, 1988). Atruchrnent refers to the emotional bond experienced with another, who is sensed as a source of security and who provides a secure base anchoring exploration of one's surroundings, which in turn contributes to autonomy and competence (Bowlby, 1988). Attachment theory also has been labeled a theory of affect regulation (Feeney & Noller, 1 996). Accordingly, individual differences in attachment reflect rules and strategies that children learn about handling emotions that can persist across the life span. Feeney and Noller pointed out that although these rules are acquired through experiences of caregivers' responses to attachment-related distress, they are generalized to other distre...
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