Perceived Parental Bonding: A Comparative Study between Adults Growing up in Single Parent and Both Parent Homes

Abstract

Parental bonding is an intense attachment in relationship that develops between the parent and child during the early years of life. Scientific literature asserts that parent-child bonding is an important predictor of the child’s immediate habits, thoughts, and emotions and its long-term personal and social growth. The present study investigated perceived parental bonding in adults from single-parent and both-parent homes to understand if parenting conditions influenced the bonding relationship. Parental Bonding Inventory (PBI) was used to evaluate one’s attachment to one's parent from the adult child's point of view. 200 adults with single parents (n=100) and both parents (n=100), with a mean age of 29.45 years participated in the study. Results from independent sample t-test showed that participants who grew up with single parents perceived lesser care and higher overprotectiveness from their father/mother, while those from both-parent homes perceived more care and lesser overprotection from their father as well as their mother. Further analysis revealed that individuals from single-parent homes reported affectionless control type of bonding to be persistent in their relationship, while those from both-parent homes reported optimal bonding with their parents.