Separation Anxiety in Parents of Adolescents: Theoretical Significance and Scale Development

Abstract

Parents of adolescents commonly face separation-related issues associated with children's increasing independence and imminent leave-taking. The aims of this investigation were (1) to develop a reliable and valid measure of parental emotions associated with separation and (2) to validate the measure by relating it to other attributes (attachment relationship quality, parent-child communication, and parent-adolescent differentiation) assessed in mothers, fathers, and their adolescents. The newly constructed, 35-item Parents of Adolescents Separation Anxiety Scale (PASAS) was administered to 686 parents of teenagers in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 or college-bound freshmen and seniors. Factor analyses supported formation of two subscales: Anxiety about Adolescent Distancing (AAD) and Comfort with Secure Base Role (CSBR); both subscales showed distinctive patterns of change with child age. Parents' reports indicated that healthy adult attachment styles were associated with lower AAD and higher CSBR scores; children of parents who had higher AAD scores reported lower quality of attachment to both mothers and fathers.

Imagined interactions, family money management patterns and coalitions, and attitudes toward money and credit

“…Anderson & Sabatelli, 1992;Bartle & Sabatelli, 1989;Hock, Eberly, Bartle-Haring, Ellwanger, & Widaman, 2001;Sabatelli & Anderson, 1991). The alphas of the DIFS subscales in this study ranged from 0.81 to 0.90, which is consistent with results obtained by other researchers (e.g., Anderson & Sabatelli, 1992;Bomar & Sabatelli, 1996).…”

The relationship of maternal separation anxiety and differentiation of self to children's separation anxiety and adjustment to kindergarten: A study in Druze families

“…Such relations have not yet been tested from a Bowenian perspective in Western or Eastern cultures; most research has investigated the impact of maternal separation anxiety in Western societies and on infants in the course of their first year (Hock & Clinger, 1981;Lutz & Hock, 1995;Mayseless & Scher, 2000;Scher, Hershkovitz, & Harel, 1998;Stifler, Coulean, & Fish, 1993) or on adolescents (e.g., Blunk & Williams, 1999;Hock, Eberly, Bartle, Ellwanger, & Widman, 2001;Simnowitz, 1999). In keeping with Tuason's and Friedlander's (2000) suggestion that the process of differentiation may be unique in each culture, the present study is the first attempt to explore these relationships in an Israeli Druze sample.…”

Differentiation of Self and Separation Anxiety: Is There a Similarity Between Spouses?

“…One of the prominent familial variables recently found to be related to separation anxiety is differentiation of self (e.g., Hock et al 2001;Peleg et al 2006). Differentiation of self (Bowen 1978;Kerr and Bowen 1988) is a theoretical construct that expresses, on an intra-psychic level, the individual's ability to attain a balance between emotional and intellectual functioning, and on an inter-psychic level, the individual's ability to achieve a balance between intimacy and autonomy in relationships (Bowen 1978; Kerr and Bowen 1988;Skowron and Friedlander 1998).…”