The Effect of Attachment on Adolescent Internalizing Problems:Mediating Effects of Selfobject Needs
AUTHOR : 신문혜,이지연
INFORMATION : page. 125~142 / 2015 Vol.22 No.1
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine the mediating effect of selfobject needs in the
relation between attachment and internalizing problems. 304 high school students participated in this
research. The data were processed by SPSS WIN 18.0. The results of the study were as follows:
First, attachment anxiety was positively correlated with selfobject hunger, selfobject avoidance and
internalizing problems. The attachment avoidance was positively correlated with selfobject avoidance
and internalizing problems, but negatively correlated with selfobject hunger. This means that higher
attachment anxiety becomes higher possibility for higher selfobject needs and higher internalizing
problems, and higher attachment avoidance becomes higher possibility for higher selfobject avoidance,
internalizing problems and lower selfobject hunger. In addition, selfobject needs were positively
correlated with internalizing problems and the higher selfobject needs resulted in higher internalizing
problems. Second, as a result of the Baron and Kenny's (1986) three-step hierarchical regression
analysis approach, the effect of attachment to internalizing problems was partly mediated by
selfobject needs. These results imply that internalizing problems can be influenced by selfobject needs
and attachment. Also, insecure attachment led to the avoidance of necessary selfobject experience in
adolescents. Therefore, counselors should consider the adolescents’ selfobject needs and attachment to
help them recover from the internalizing problems.