STUDENT-PROFESSOR RELATIONSHIP STYLES, CHILDHOOD ATTACHMENT BONDS ANDCURRENT ACADEMIC ORIENTATIONS

Within the past decade, attachment theory has been productively extend ed into the domains of close adult relationships. Indeed, a key theore tical construct - attachment security - has been shown to predict a va riety of important relationship outcomes, including perceived trust, a ffect self-regulation, and overall dyadic adjustment. More recently, a ttachment theory has guided research into non-intimate relationships, again with supportive results. In keeping with this initiative, the pr esent study explored whether college students adopting typically secur e vs insecure styles of relating to professors also differed in their descriptions of early attachment bonds with parents, and in their resp onses to measures of current academic motivation and adjustment. Findi ngs indicated-that, relative to their peers with insecure relationship styles, students in secure relationships with their professors experi enced significantly warmer and more supportive childhood emotional bon ds with their mothers. In addition, they evidenced significantly more favorable academic attitudes and stronger feelings of social integrati on and connectedness within the university community.