Trust, communication and healthy parental attachment among Malaysian academically talented college students

Abstract

This study examined patterns of trust and communication that contribute towards development of quality parental attachment. Malaysian academically talented students studying at five different universities in the United States participated in the study. The study employed a case study approach involving 98 academically talented students. The researcher used two interview techniques (in-depth and focus group interviews) to collect the data. The researcher developed an Interview Protocol consisting of 24 open-ended questions. Data collected were then analyzed using NVIVO7. Ten main themes that contribute to healthy parental attachment emerged from the data; six of the themes (understanding, respect, shared trust, accessibility, responsiveness, expectations) described trust, while four themes (extensiveness, quantity, quality, and modes of communication) describe the communication patterns. Both male and female students described their trust and communication as leaning towards their mothers, but male students’ patterns of communication are more unpredictable in nature.