2012

The experiences created between the child and mother and the child and father, form a pattern of relating necessary for the child to discern which responses and behaviors are favorable or unfavorable according to each parent’s interactions with the child. Snow et al. (2004) identify these patterns as safe, dependent, parentified, fearful, and distant, as illustrated in their 106 item self-report instrument, the Adult Scale of Parental Attachment (ASPA). In developing the ASPA, Snow et al. indicate that other attachment instruments measure only attachment styles primarily based on how secure the individual feels within a current peer or romantic relationship as opposed to measuring current relationship experiences based on the individual’s relationship or attachment history. Below is a brief review regarding patterns of relating, as it pertains to the adolescent population.