A cross sectional study to explore factors affecting adolescent-parents attachment in a rapidly developing society in Malaysia

Introduction: Secure attachment to parents prevents adolescents from externalizing behaviours especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to identify the contributors to parental attachment in a developing society. Methodology: This cross sectional study was performed on urban secondary students (aged between 13 and 17 years) based on multistage sampling in Pasir Gudang District, Johor, Malaysia. The depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) and Inventory of parent and peer attachment (IPPA) questionnaires were used along with a questionnaire for demographic information. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to identify the main effect of study parameters on IPPA scores for father and mother. Results: A total of 2980 students (46.9% male and 53.1% female) participated in this study. Mean and SD for age was 14.39±1.28. Depression score and school form had a significant main effect on both paternal and maternal attachment (p<0.05). Age (p=0.003), ethnicity (p=0.01), history of intimate relationship (p=0.03), paternal education level (p=0.006) and maternal education level (p=0.04) had a main effect on paternal attachment, while gender (p=0.02) and stress (p=0.001) were shown to have significant main effect on maternal attachment. Discussion: The findings of this study revealed different contributors for adolescent attachment with father and mother. Local, cultural and economic structure of the community should be taken into account in order to plan for an intervention strategy to secure adolescent’s relationship with parents.

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