Examining the Relationship Between Attachment Behaviors and College Student Health and Wellness

Abstract

In a recent study presented at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association, Dr. John Guthman noted that there has been a steady growth in the number of students seeking counseling services for more severe psychological problems on college and university campuses in the United States (Nauert, 2010). He postulated that one possible reason for this trend may be that an increasing number of students are coming to campus socially isolated and not connected to any individual or group. Indeed, previous researchers have suggested that two constructs integral to successful college adjustment are continuing parental attachment and social support (Moller, Fouladi, McCarthy, & Hatch, 2003). Although the existing literature has shown a strong link between adult attachment and mental and physical health, Raque-Bogdan, Ericson, Jackson, Martin, and Bryan (2011) stated that little is known about the factors and mechanisms underlying these relationships. In this issue of the Journal of College Counseling, several researchers attempt to fill this gap by exploring possible constructs related to college student attachment. In the opening article, Chia-Chih DC Wang and colleagues used adult attachment theory and cognitive appraisal theory to examine how college students react to romantic infidelity scenarios. In their study, both attachment and cognitive appraisal mediated the effects of attachment on behavioral and emotional reactions. Their work provides college counselors with a better understanding of how clients' attachment styles and cognitive processes may affect their experiences and reactions when faced with a romantic partner's act of infidelity. Keisha Love and Tamera Murdock examined a mediational path model containing parental attachment, cognitive working models, and depression. They hypothesized that cognitive working models of the self and others would mediate the relationship between parental attachment and depression among African American college students. Their results lend support for the use of parental attachment relationships as a predictor of depression and provide direction for counselors working with these clients in their daily practice. Jeffrey Ashby and colleagues examined the relationship between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, stress, depression, and satisfaction with life in a sample of undergraduate women. The increasing number of college students who report seeking counseling services for the distress caused by perfectionism make this a timely contribution to the college counseling literature. In addition to providing evidence for a reexamination of the association between adaptive perfectionism, stress, and possible related outcomes, Ashby and colleagues also provide additional support for the mediating role stress plays in the association of maladaptive perfectionism with decreased positive and increased negative outcomes. …