Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment–Revised Scores in Adolescents: A Psychometric and Person‐Oriented Study

• Author: James R. Andretta,Michael T. McKay,John L. Perry,Séamus A. Harvey
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12252
• Published date: 01 July 2017
• Date: 01 July 2017

J R. ASuperior Court of the District of Columbia

M T. MKUniversity of Liverpool

S A. HBangor University

J L. PUniversity of Hull

Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment–Revised

Scores in Adolescents: A Psychometric and

Person-Oriented Study

Objective: Identify perceived parental security

proles and examine differences across proles

with regard to self-esteem and three domains

of self-efcacy (i.e., social, emotional, and

academic).

Background: The Inventory of Parent and Peer

Attachment–Revised (IPPA-R) is an index of

the quality of communication, feelings of trust,

and degree of alienation that adolescents and

young adults perceive in their parental and peer

relationships. However, the factor structure of

IPPA-R scores has yet to be examined in ado-

lescents, and no study to date has included

a person-oriented analysis using the assess-

ment tool.

Method: Conrmatory factor analysis (CFA)

and exploratory structural equation modeling

(ESEM) were planned to examine the structural

validity of IPPA-R scores in a large sample of

adolescents (N=1,126; 61%male, 12–16 years

of age). Model-based clustering was employed

Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Child Guidance

Clinic, 510 4th Street, NW #330, Washington, DC 20001

(jamesrandretta@gmail.com).

Key Words: Adolescents, Inventory of Parent and Peer

Attachment–Revised, parent attachment, peer attachment,

perceived parental security.

to enumerate perceived parental security pro-

les, and Cohen’s deffect sizes were used to

interpret prole differences in outcomes.

Results: CFA (root mean square error of

approximation,RMSEA =.06, comparative t

index,CFI =.90)andESEM(RMSEA =.04,

CFI =.95) substantiated the proposed three-

factor structure for IPPA-R parent (but not

peer) scores. Model-based clustering led to

the identication of ve perceived parental

security proles: (a) high security, (b) mod-

erately high security, (c) average security, (d)

moderately low security, and (e) low security.

Adolescents with high security and low security

proles, respectively, reported the highest and

lowest levels of self-esteem and self-efcacy

(0.48 ≤Cohen’s d≤1.67).

Conclusion: IPPA-Rparent, but not peer,scores

appear to be a valid index of perceived parental

security in adolescents. Perceived parental

security proles are strongly associated with

self-concept.

Implications: A student’s self-condence in his

or her ability to manage emotions and cope with

the academic demands of school is explained,

in part, by perceived parental security. There-

fore, interventions designed to develop feelings

of trust and closeness with parents, as well as

Family Relations 66 (July 2017): 527–540527

DOI:10.1111/fare.12252