Child-parent attachment and children's peer relations: A quantitative review

The central premise of attachment theory is that the security of the early child-parent bond is reflected in the child's interpersonal relationships a cross the life span. This meta-analysis was based on 63 studies that report ed correlations between child-parent attachment and children's peer relatio ns. The overall effect size (ES) for child-mother attachment was in the sma ll-to-moderate range and was guile homogeneous. ESs were similar in studies that featured the Strange Situation and Q-sort methods. The effects were l arger for peer relations in middle childhood and adolescence than for peer relations in early childhood. ESs were also higher for studies that focused on children's close friendships rather than on relations with other peers. Gender and cultural differences in ESs were minimal. The results for the f ew studies on father-child attachment were inconclusive.