| Abstract: | This study examined the association between security with parents and the quality of interactions between adolescent best friends. Thirty-six girls and their best friends, between the ages of 15 and 18 years, were recruited to participate in the study. They were videotaped while discussing unresolved problems each adolescent had experienced in her life. Security with parents and peers, self-esteem, and locus of control were assessed with questionnaires. There were three main findings. Girls high in security with respect to their parents had higher positive interaction scores in the videotaped task, higher self-esteem, higher internality scores, and less feelings of unknown or powerful others control than those low in security. Dyads in which both girls were high in security with respect to their parents had higher total positive interaction scores than those dyads in which at least one girl was low in security. Best friends were significantly concordant with respect to security with parents and peers as well as their positive interaction scores during their own task and their friend's task. Findings are discussed with respect to attachment theory. |
