This Article Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ooi, Y. P. Articles by Cai, Y. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Impact of Parent–Child Attachment on Aggression, Social Stress and Self-Esteem

SIM University, Singapore

Rebecca P. Ang

Nanyang Technological University

Daniel S. S. Fung

Geraldine Wong

Yiming Cai

Institute of Mental Health, Singapore

This study examined the impact of the quality of parent–child attachment on aggression, social stress, and self-esteem in a clinical sample of 91 boys with disruptive behaviour disorders ranging from 8 to 12 years of age. These boys were included in the study if they were found to exhibit various aggressive and antisocial behaviours such as getting into fights, telling lies and teasing others. Consistent with our hypothesis, multiple regression analyses found that the quality of parent–child attachment significantly predicted parent-rated aggression, social stress and self-esteem. Higher quality of parent–child attachment was associated with lower levels of parent-rated aggression, lower levels of social stress and higher levels of self esteem. Correlational analyses concurred with main findings. The results emphasized the importance of parent–child attachment on boys' behavioural and emotional outcomes. Implications for counsellors and mental health practitioners are also discussed.

Key Words: childhood aggression • parent-child attachment • peer relations • self-esteem • social stress

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?