Empirical Article
Here for You: Attachment and the Growth of Empathic Support for Friends in Adolescence
Jessica A. Stern,
Meghan A. Costello, Jessica Kansky, Caroline Fowler, Emily L. Loeb, Joseph P. Allen,
Corresponding Author
Jessica A. Stern
University of Virginia
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jessica A. Stern, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, PO Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA 22904. Electronic mail may be sent to [email protected].
Search for more papers by this authorJessica A. Stern,
Meghan A. Costello, Jessica Kansky, Caroline Fowler, Emily L. Loeb, Joseph P. Allen,
Corresponding Author
Jessica A. Stern
University of Virginia
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jessica A. Stern, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, PO Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA 22904. Electronic mail may be sent to [email protected].
Search for more papers by this authorThis study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Mental Health (9R01 HD058305-11A1 and R01-MH58066) to Joseph P. Allen. Preparation of this manuscript was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number F32HD102119 to Jessica A. Stern. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Abstract
Attachment was examined as a predictor of teens’ empathic support for friends in a multimethod longitudinal study of 184 U.S. adolescents (58% Caucasian, 29% African American, 13% other) followed from ages 14 to 18. Adolescents’ secure state of mind regarding attachment at 14 predicted teens’ greater capacity to provide empathic support during observed interactions with friends across ages 16–18 (Baverage = .39). Teens’ empathic support was generally stable during this period, and less secure teens were slower to develop these skills. Further, teens’ attachment security predicted the degree to which friends called for their support (Baverage = .29), which was associated with teens’ responsiveness to such calls. The findings suggest that secure attachment predicts teens’ ability to provide empathic support in close friendships.
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