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January 20092009 29: 743 originally published online 13The Journal of Early AdolescenceDrouin

Stphane Duchesne, Catherine F. Ratelle, Sarah-Caroline Poitras and EvelyneTeacher-Academic Worries About the Middle School Transition

Early Adolescent Attachment to Parents, Emotional Problems, and

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Early AdolescentAttachment to Parents,Emotional Problems,and Teacher-AcademicWorries About the

Middle School TransitionStphane Duchesne

Catherine F. Ratelle

Sarah-Caroline Poitras

Evelyne DrouinLaval University, Qubec City, Canada

This study examines how attachment to mother and father predicts worries about

academic demands and relationships with teachers generated by the transition

from elementary to middle school through its contribution to adolescents emo-

tional problems (depression and anxiety). The study sample includes 626 young

adolescents (289 boys and 337 girls) in sixth grade who completed the Security

Scale to assess security of attachment to their mothers and fathers. The results of

analyses based on structural equation modeling showed that attachment to

mother predicts adolescents teacher-academic worries about the middle school

transition through anxiety symptoms. These results are discussed in light of theliterature on attachment theory, emotional problems during adolescence, and the

context of the middle school transition.

Keywords: attachment; anxiety; depression; teacher-academic worries;

middle school transition

I

t is widely recognized that the transition to middle school is a turning

point in the academic path of young adolescents (Barber & Olsen, 2004;

Duchesne, Larose, Guay, Vitaro, & Tremblay, 2005; Isakson & Jarvis, 1999;

Wigfield, Eccles, Mac Iver, Reuman, & Midlgey, 1991). Most adolescents

will have to deal with new learning environment, which often involves

higher academic demands and a redefinition of interpersonal relationships

Journal of Early Adolescence

Volume 29 Number 5

October 2009 743-766

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with peers and a greater number of teachers who are, at times, less available

than elementary school teachers (Eccles, 2004; Roeser & Eccles, 1998;

Seidman, Allen, Aber, Mitchell, & Feindman, 1994; Steinberg, 2005). Theseupcoming changes generate worries among many adolescents (Berndt &

Mekos, 1995; Elias, Gara, & Ubriaco, 1985; Wenz-Gross, Siperstein, Untch,

& Widaman, 1997). Because school plays a central role in their lives (Barrett

& Heubeck, 2000; Karr & Johnson, 1991), this imminent transition could be

the focal point of many of these worries. Here, worries about the middle

school transition refer to anticipation about changes in academic expecta-

tions and teacher relationships. These two characteristics of the learning

environment are known to play a determining role in motivation, feeling ofself-efficacy, and academic success of young adolescents (Anderman,

Maehr, & Midgley, 1999; Midgley, Middleton, Gheen, & Kumar, 2002).

A growing number of studies have indicated that school worries tend to be

correlated with emotional problems during the adolescent period (Robinson,

Garber, & Hilsman, 1995; Rudolph, Lambert, Clark, & Kurlakowsky, 2001;

Smith Carter, Garber, Ciesla, & Cole, 2006; Wenz-Gross et al., 1997). These

problems generally fall into two broad categories of disorders or subsyndro-

mal disorders: anxiety (e.g., fearfulness, avoidance behavior, physiologicalsymptoms) and depression (e.g., sadness, loss of pleasure, indecisiveness,

worthlessness). Although the directionality of the link between emotional

problems and school worries has not been clearly established, their conse-

quences for the academic performance and mental health of young adoles-

cents are nevertheless well documented (Duchesne et al., 2005; Ialongo,

Edelsohn, Werthamer-Larsson, Crockett, & Kellam, 1995; Rudolph et al.,

2001; Wenz-Gross et al., 1997). Thus, attention should be focused on identi-

fying the factors likely to lessen any form of emotional problems that could

compromise adolescents capacity to adjust to major changes such as the

transition to middle school. Although there has recently been more research

on the cause of adolescents emotional problems (Graber, 2004; Kendall,

Hedtke, & Aschenbrand, 2006), to date, little effort has been made to inves-

tigate the factors protecting adolescents against school worries.

The present study investigates the links between attachment security to

mother and father and the development of school worries related to the

transition to middle school and whether this relationship is mediated

through adolescents emotional problems (i.e., anxiety and depression).Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969) has widely inspired research on emo-

tions and their regulation during life changes (Thompson, 1999). The secu-

rity of attachment to parents could provide an important emotional resource

against the emotional distress and anxious thoughts associated with the

middle school transition (Papini & Roggman, 1992).

744 Journal of Early Adolescence



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Middle School Worries and Adjustment

Worries usually refer to a chain of negative and relatively uncontrollablethoughts and images (Borkovec, Robinson, Pruzinsky, & Depree, 1983).

Apprehension about a future negative consequence is often the cause of these

intrusive cognitions (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Although

worrying about concrete situations or situations that are most likely to occur

indicates a desire to adjust, this is rarely the case when such worries concern

remotely possible or purely hypothetical situations (Borkovec et al., 1983).

These thoughts can then become disproportionate to the real threat repre-

sented by the dreaded situations (American Psychiatric Association, 2000;

Craske, Barlow, & OLeary, 1992).

For young adolescents starting middle school, worries are generally

related to academic performance and relations with others, such as teachers

(Berndt & Mekos, 1995; Elias et al., 1985; Wenz-Gross et al., 1997). These

seem to be two legitimate spheres of worries given that in the academic envi-

ronment at the start of middle school, more emphasis is put on academic

accomplishment, teacher-student relationships are less personal, and teachers

enforce stricter discipline than in elementary school (Eccles et al., 1993). For

some adolescents, these worries are quite intense and significantly disrupt

their ability to adjust. Thus, students who worry about not being able to suc-

ceed in middle school or to maintain harmonious relations with their teachers

are more likely to have low self-concept and to show symptoms of anxiety

and depression (e.g., Smith Carter et al., 2006; Wenz-Gross et al., 1997).

Teacher-academic worries about the transition to middle school can

detract from the adjustment of young adolescents, thus raising questions

about the risk and protection factors associated with these worries. Because

the emotional, academic, and social functioning of children and adolescentsis partly explained by external factors such as parental behavior (Bowlby,

1969; Grolnick, 2003; Moss & St-Laurent, 2001), it is plausible that attach-

ment security to parents can be critical in the genesis of negative emotions

associated with the upcoming transition to middle school.

Parent-Adolescent Attachment and Emotional Problems:

Theoretical Perspective and Empirical Evidence

The idea that the earliest caregiver-child relationships provide the prototype

for childrens later expression and regulation of emotions plays a key role in

attachment theory (Sroufe & Waters, 1977). One of the primary suggestions

of this theory is that the capacity of the caregiver (often the parent) to properly

Duchesne et al. / Attachment and School Worries 745



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grasp, interpret, and respond to the childs emotions within a short time period

contributes to the latters emotional security and acquired ability to use self-

regulating behaviors to cope with distress, anxiety, and fear (Ainsworth,Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978; Kopp, 1989). Over time, parental responses

appear to be encoded by the child as internal working models of self (I feel

loved) and others (I can trust the adults around me), which appear to influ-

ence his or her capacity to effectively cope with his or her emotions during

distressful situations. These models are secure when the child feels confident

in the relationship and can anticipate the parents psychological availability

and capacity to respond and when the parent sends the child a positive image

of himself or herself. Such models predispose the child to freely express his orher emotions and explore his or her environment and thus to feel able to over-

come challenges within that environment (Bowlby, 1988; Bretherton &

Munholland, 1999). Alternatively, insecure models are constructed when the

child feels uneasy in the relationship, perceives himself or herself negatively

through parental behaviors and anticipates rejection or incoherent responses

from the parent. This child may deduce that his or her emotions cannot be

shared with other people and that it is better for him or her to minimize the

importance of these emotions or attempt to hide them (Cassidy, 1994).Studies that have examined attachment beyond early childhood have sup-

ported the validity of this theory, especially regarding emotions in early

adolescence. For example, Buist, Dekovic, Meeus, and van Aken (2004) have

shown that adolescents who report a higher quality of attachment to parents

show fewer emotional problems (anxiety, depression, and withdrawal) a year

later. Similarly, Papini and Roggman (1992) found that parental attachment

was negatively associated with adolescent feelings of depression and anxiety

during the transition to junior high school. In related work, Nada-Raja,

McGee, and Stanton (1992) showed that secure parental attachment among

15-year-old adolescents was linked to lower incidence of mental disorders

such as anxiety and depression. Essau (2004) also found that perceived level

of attachment to parents was significantly higher among nondepressed

adolescents than among adolescents with symptoms of depression. Finally, in

their recent review of literature, Bgels and Brechman-Toussaint (2006)

reported that secure attachment to parents was related to low levels of

anxious symptoms among both children and adolescents.

Despite these findings, there has not been much research on the potentialcontribution of a secure parent-child attachment relationship on one of the

main sources of worry during the adolescent periodthe middle school tran-

sition (Wenz-Gross et al., 1997). In the present study, attachment security

refers to adolescents perceptions that their parent is responsive, available,




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and open to communication and a reliable source of help in times of stress

(Kerns, Aspelmeier, Gentzler, & Grabill, 2001; Kerns, Klepac, & Cole,

1996). Attachment security to parents could help to reduce anxiety as adoles-cents are about to enter a more complex school environment in terms of

teacher expectations, curriculum characteristics, and teacher-student interac-

tions (Papini & Roggman, 1992; Steinberg, 2005). Adolescents who report a

secure attachment to their parents may therefore recognize and express their

worries more freely and turn to the latter for emotional support (Cook, 2000;

Kobak & Sceery, 1988). The fact that these adolescents can rely on their

parents to help them regulate their discomfort created by stressful situations

might lead them to welcome the changes that occur during the transition tomiddle school as stimulating challenges. Conversely, adolescents who report

insecure or weak attachment relationships to their mother and father might

see this transition as less desirable. Consequently, the inability or impossibil-

ity to turn to parents for emotional support might increase adolescents stress

levels, causing them to develop teacher-academic worries.

Mediation Hypothesis

Adolescents emotional problems might conceivably serve as a mediational

influence in the association between attachment and teacher-academic

worries about the middle school transition. On the one hand, the studies

cited above have attempted to establish a relation between the quality of

attachment relationships with parents and the development of emotional

problems during adolescence. On the other hand, another line of research

supports association between emotional problems and school worries or

related emotions (Compas, Grant, & Ey, 1994; Garber & Hilsman, 1992;

Heubeck & OSullivan, 1998; Nolan-Hoeksema, Girgus, & Seligman,1992; Siddique & DArcy, 1984; Smith Carter et al., 2006; Wenz-Gross

et al., 1997). For instance, Smith Carter and colleagues (2006) showed that

students emotional problems predicted higher levels of hassles within the

school environment a year later. Another study conducted by Wenz-Gross et

al. (1997) indicated that high levels of school-related stress among young

adolescents were related to greater feelings of depression. A similar result

was reported by Siddique and DArcy (1984) who showed that the percep-

tion of school-related stress is associated with various measures of psycho-logical distress, including anxiety. Heubeck and OSullivan (1998) also

found that school hassles were related to adolescents emotional problems.

In line with attachment theory, parental behaviors specifically related

to attachment could be associated with worries about the academic and




7/25

interpersonal demands of middle school, based on their adolescents

development of or inhibitions related to anxiety and depression. From this

perspective, adolescents emotional problems could be viewed as causalantecedents of teacher-academic worries. Thus, parents who are open to

communication, physically available, and responsive provide a relational

context in which children can develop secure internal working models of

attachment that may be expressed through a positive sense of self, a feeling

of security, and help-seeking behaviors (e.g., Duchesne & Larose, 2007;

Larose, Bernier, Soucy, & Duchesne, 1999). These cognitive and behavio-

ral resources can facilitate the regulation of negative emotions, thereby

decreasing anxious (e.g., fearfulness, frequent need to be reassured) anddepressive (e.g., sadness, loss of pleasure, worthlessness) symptoms (Bgels

and Brechman-Toussaint, 2006; Papini & Roggman, 1992; Rudolph, Flynn,

& Abaied, 2008). Given that these symptoms are generally accompanied by

perceptive and cognitive deficits related to self, others, and the future (Beck,

Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; Rudolph, Hammen, & Daley, 2006; Vasey,

1993), adolescents who have learned to regulate their emotions, through con-

tacts with reassuring parents, would be probably less likely to anticipate the

worst in the face of danger. These adolescents may therefore be better pre-pared to assess the expected changes related to the middle school transition

in an objective and optimistic manner and to perceive this transition as more

desirable than stressful.

The Present Study

This study addresses the following question: Does the presence of ado-

lescents emotional problems mediate the association between attachment

to mother and father and teacher-academic worries about the middle schooltransition? More specifically, attachment security to parents is expected to

predict decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression, which, in turn, are

expected to predict fewer worries about the middle school transition. The

examination of these constructs is a novel feature of this study. Analyses

based on structural equations (Bentler, 1990; Kline, 2005) are used to test

mediation hypothesis.

Another distinctive feature of this study involved examining the differen-

tial contribution of the father and mother on the link among parental attach-ment, emotional problems, and teacher-academic worries about middle

school. Adolescents attachment security to their mothers could differ from

that to their fathers, in addition to bringing a unique and independent contri-

bution to the explanation of their emotional problems and teacher-academic




8/25

worries. To this end, some researchers suggested that attachment security is

specific to individual relationships and that adolescents development,

including attachment security, may be a result of the contribution of diversesignificant caregivers (Shaver, Collins, & Clark, 1996). During infancy, this

issue is not generally addressed because of the predominance of the mother-

infant relationship in the study of attachment. However, during adolescence,

there has been ample time for other significant attachment figures, especially

the fathers, to impact the development of adolescents. This idea is supported

by a number of studies that have shown how father-adolescent security of

attachment explains a significant portion of the variance in adolescents

behavioral problems at school (Williams & Kelly, 2005) and how attachmentto fathers, and not to mothers, is linked with their style of stress management

in late adolescence (Grossmann, Grossmann, & Zimmermann, 1999).

Moreover, the moderating effect of the adolescents gender will be taken

into account. Studies have reported differences between boys and girls with

regard to some dimensions relating to their emotional and psychological

problems in adolescence. For example, it seems that girls are more con-

cerned than boys about the academic demands of middle school (Berndt &

Mekos, 1995) and personal inadequacy (see Rudolph et al., 2006). In addi-tion, girls show higher rates of emotional problems (i.e., anxiety and

depressive affect) than boys during this developmental period (Graber,

2004; Kendall et al., 2006; Zahn-Waxler, Klimes-Dougan, & Slattery,

2000). The parallel occurrence of puberty and the middle school transition

could be the cause of girls greater vulnerability to emotional problems

(Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994). Thus, the strength of associations

among attachment to parents, emotional problems, and teacher-academic

worries may be greater for girls than for boys.

Last, the final question relates to the role of family structure in the link

among parental attachment, emotional problems, and worries about middle

school. Previous studies have demonstrated that young people from single-

parent or blended families are more likely to have lower security of attach-

ment (Nair & Murray, 2005),to show signs of anxiety (Last, Perrin, Hersen,

& Kazdin, 1992; Pagani, Boulerice, Tremblay, & Vitaro, 1997), and to have

academic problems (Abd-El-Fattah, 2006; Demo & Acock, 1996; Duchesne

et al., 2005) than those from intact families. A decrease in feelings of aca-

demic competence during the middle school transition was also docu-mented among adolescents who had only one parent as a source of social

support (Cantin & Boivin, 2005). The relation between family structure and

adolescents adjustment problems could nevertheless be explained by the

lack of social support experienced by broken families, which is often




9/25

accompanied by poverty, isolation, stress, and negative parenting (Evans,

2004;Hashima & Amato, 1994; Kotchick, Dorsey, & Heller, 2005; Nair &

Murray, 2005; Seitz, Rosenbaum, & Apfel, 1985; Taylor, Casten, &Flickinger, 1993).In the present study, family structure will be used as a

covariate to rule out the possibility that it would explain the relation among

attachment to parents, emotional problems, and teacher-academic worries.

Method

Participants and ProcedureOf a sample of 732 French-speaking adolescents who agreed to participate

in the study, 636 of them (289 boys and 337 girls) returned their duly com-

pleted questionnaires. This constitutes a 86.89% response rate. The majority

of these participants were born in the province of Quebec (more than 92%),

and their mean age was 11.8 years (SD=0.48). Nearly 70% of them lived withboth biological parents, whereas the others lived in different family configura-

tions (e.g., single-parent families, blended families, foster families). The sam-

ple was selected randomly based on a list provided by the Quebec Ministry ofEducation. The strategy involved making up a sample that was representative

of the urban and rural communities located throughout Quebec. Research

assistants contacted each adolescent by telephone. Parental consent was

needed for the adolescents to participate in the study. Once parental authoriza-

tion was obtained, a questionnaire was mailed to each adolescent. Data were

collected during the spring that preceded their entry into middle school. All

participants received cinema vouchers for their participation.

Measures

Attachment to parents. Attachment to mother and father was measured

using the Security Scale (Kerns et al., 1996). This self-reported instrument

assesses adolescents perceived security in their relationship with each par-

ent. The 15 items of the instrument are grouped into three dimensions: (a)

the extent to which the adolescent perceives that his or her mother or father

is available and responsive (i.e., the extent to which the adolescent worries

that his or her parents will not be present when he or she needs them); (b)the adolescents tendency to seek help from his or her mother or father in

times of stress (i.e., the extent to which the adolescent turns to his or her

parent when in distress); and (c) the adolescents perceptions concerning

the ease with which he or she communicates with his or her mother or




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father (i.e., the extent to which the adolescent likes to tell his or her parents

what he or she is thinking or feeling). Items were answered on a

4-point scale ranging from 1 (sort of true) to 4 (really true). Adolescentsread the statement (e.g., Some kids do not really like telling their [mom/

dad] what they are thinking or feeling BUT Other kids do like telling their

[mom/dad] what they are thinking or feeling) and indicated to what extent

the statement was true for them. As recommended by Kerns et al. (1996),

parental scores were obtained by summing items for the mother and for the

father separately. The reliability and validity of the Security Scale are well

documented (Kerns et al., 1996). In the current study, the alpha coefficients

were .74 for attachment to mother and .78 for attachment to father.

Teacher-academic worries about the middle school transition.

Adolescents worries about the upcoming transition to middle school were

measured using a scale based on the measures developed and validated by

Berndt and Mekos (1995) and Wenz-Gross et al. (1997). This nine-item

scale contains two dimensions: worries about (a) academic demands

(5 items; e.g., I am worried that the work I will have to do in middle school

will be too difficult; I am worried about not getting good results in middleschool) and (b) relationships with teachers (4 items; e.g., I am worried

that teachers will not be available; I am worried that teachers will not be

interested enough in me). Students indicated, on a 5-point scale

(1 =does not correspond at all to what I think, 5 =corresponds exactly towhat I think), the extent to which each item reflected their feelings. In the

present study, the Cronbachs alpha was .85 for the academic demands

score and .75 for the relationships with teachers score.

Anxiety. The adolescents anxiety was measured using the Worries and

Oversensitivity subscale derived from the French version of the Revised

Childrens Manifest Anxiety Scale (Turgeon & Chartrand, 2003). This sub-

scale contains 12 items (e.g., I worry about what my parents will say to

me; I worry about many things). Participants had to circle yes or no,

indicating whether the statement reflected their own situation. The reliabil-

ity of this subscale has been demonstrated through a coefficient of internal

consistency of .81 and a coefficient of test-retest reliability (after 6 months)

of .61 (Turgeon & Chartrand, 2003). In this study, the coefficient of internalconsistency for this subscale was .73.

Depression. The adolescents depressive symptoms were measured

using a short version of the Children Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs,




11/25


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Correlations Among Variables of the Model

Bivariate correlations among attachment to mother and father, emotionalproblems (anxiety and depression), and teacher-academic worries about

middle school are presented in Table 1. These correlations are not corrected

for measurement error. Results indicate that all the variables were signifi-

cantly linked with each other. Overall, these relations ranged from low

(attachment to mother and worries about academic demands; r=.15,p


13/25

The proposed model was tested beforehand without estimating mediation

effects (i.e., direct model), where attachment to mother and father predicted

(a) emotional problems (i.e., anxiety and depression) and (b) teacher-academicworries. Results of the direct model yielded a significant chi-square, 2(53)=316.24,p


14/25

not shown in this figure. The results reveal that the attachment to mother

negatively predicted teacher-academic worries (=.31,p


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on their predicted latent factor (all ps


16/25

Discussion

The results of this study support the hypothesis that manifestations of

emotional problems among adolescents play a mediating role in the link

between attachment to parents and teacher-academic worries about the

middle school transition. More specifically, the results show that attach-

ment security to parents, especially the mother, predict fewer anxiety symp-

toms among adolescents, which, in turn, lower levels of teacher-academic

worries about the transition to middle school. This mediating relation was

identified as significant after controlling for family structure.

On the one hand, the results replicate the findings of studies that examined

the association between attachment to parents and emotional problems

among adolescents (e.g., Buist et al., 2004; Essau, 2004; Nada-Raja et al.,

1992; Papini & Roggman, 1992). These results suggest that adolescents who

perceive that their parents are available in times of distress and who feel that

they can easily communicate their need for security and comfort to theirmother benefit from close relational experiences, which help them regulate

their emotional states (Bretherton & Munholland, 1999; Cassidy, 1994).

These adolescents, supported by reassuring parents, appear to recognize their

distress more easily and express their emotions (e.g., sadness, fears, worries)


Figure 2

Results for the Mediation Model

Attachment tomother

AnxietyR

2= .14

Attachment tofather

DepressionR

2

= .29

Middle schoolWorriesR

2

= .44

.17

.23

.62

.23

.67 .64

Dp1ATTf1

Ax1

ACAD

ATTf2 ATTf3

ATTm1 ATTm3ATTm2

TEACH

.65 .62

.69 .83 .73

.88 .81

.76 .60.71 .76 .87

Dp2

Ax2

.34

ns

nsns



17/25

more openly (Bretherton, 1990). They seem to be able to rely on their parents

to be available to comfort them, reassure them, and help them find a solution

to a problem which must be solved. The feeling of security stemming fromthe parents caring and supportive behaviors thus appears to protect adoles-

cents from the harmful effects associated with unresolved negative emotions.

However, this feeling of security seems to be important in the relationship

with their mother, in particular. Interpretation of this last finding should be

made with caution, keeping in mind the issue of covariance between attach-

ment to mother and attachment to father, especially given the presence of a

direct relation between attachment to father and teacher-academic worries

(see Table 2 for correlations between latent constructs).The results also show that anxious adolescents tend to develop teacher-

academic worries about the middle school transition. Some of the worries

of anxious adolescents may be because of the establishment of negative

cognitive schemas associated with their anxious state (Beck et al., 1979;

Vasey, 1993). These internal structures seem to condition the way in which

individuals view themselves (I am a worthless person) and process social

information (other people cannot do anything for me). In a stressful situ-

ation, these negative cognitive schemas appear to operate and producedistortions involving irrational, erroneous, and self-defeating thoughts

(Beck et al., 1979). It is thus plausible that as a potentially stressful event

such as the middle school transition draws near, these thought distortion

processes are set in motion and influence the way in which adolescents

anticipate upcoming changes. They might then develop excessive worries

about their capacity to meet the academic demands of middle school and to

establish harmonious relationships with their new teachers. These thoughts

seem to be particularly prevalent among adolescents from insecure families

because they do not have the affective conditions (e.g., parental availability,

responsitivity, and emotional support) needed to regulate their emotions.

Contrary to expectations, the results of this study indicate that depressive

symptoms, when considered together with the presence of anxiety, are not

associated with the development of teacher-academic worries about the mid-

dle school transition. The relatively high covariance between these variables

may have reduced the contribution of depression as a mediator in the link

between attachment experiences and teacher-academic worries. However, the

hypothesis that depression can play a small role in the equation linking attach-ment, anxiety, and teacher-academic worries cannot be entirely ruled out.

Given that anxiety and depression have a high comorbidity ratio and a shared

etiology (Graber, 2004; Kendall et al., 2006; Rudolph et al., 2006), the

manifestations of depressive symptoms might feed into the cognitive




18/25

distress experienced by more anxious adolescents (rumination, anxious

thoughts, excessive worries, etc.). These young people are thus more vulner-

able and more likely to anticipate entering middle school as a stressful event.The results of descriptive analyses showed that girls perceived more

attachment security to their mothers and showed more anxiety and teacher-

academic worries than did boys, who themselves perceived their relation-

ships with their father as more secure than girls. Although these results

concur with those reported in other studies (e.g., Berndt & Mekos, 1995;

Buist, Dekovic, Meeus, & van Aken, 2002; Duchesne & Larose, 2007), there

was no evidence that adolescents gender had a moderating effect on the

relations among parental attachment, internalizing behaviors, and teacher-academic worries about the middle school transition. Thus, the mediation

model tested in this study applied in the same way to both genders.

Finally, the results also revealed that living in an intact family is positively

associated with perceived security in the adolescents relationships with their

mothers and fathers and negatively associated with the development of wor-

ries about entry into middle school. Some studies have established a link

between single parenthood and attachment security (Nair & Murray, 2005),

mental health problems, or academic problems among adolescents (Abd-El-Fattah, 2006; Duchesne et al., 2005; Last et al., 1992). Other studies have

also pointed out that single parents are more likely to be faced with stress, lack

of social support, and poverty and to adopt erratic parental practices (e.g.,

Evans, 2004; Hashima & Amato, 1994; Kotchick et al., 2005). Thus, it may be

that adolescents from intact families are less likely to be exposed to these fac-

tors of sociofamilial adversity, therefore contributing to the high quality of

interactions with their parents. Such a context appears to allow adolescents to

maintain their attachment relationship with parents and predisposes them to

better tolerate potentially stressful events, such as starting middle school.

Practical Implications and Limitations of the Study

The results of this study suggest possible approaches that can be taken

by the parents of adolescents who are about to start middle school. These

approaches could concentrate on two areas: (a) parents maintenance of a

secure attachment relationship with their child and (b) parents recognitionthat the transition to middle school can be a stressful event for their child.

First, parents could establish the conditions for maintaining a secure

relationship with their adolescent. Parents could be available and respon-

sive to their children and know how to encourage and reassure them about




19/25

their worth. This will help to create conditions for young adolescents to

recognize their distress, reveal their feelings to their parents, and rely on

them for support (Bowlby, 1988; Bretherton & Munholland, 1999; Cook,2000). By responding appropriately and rapidly to their childs distress,

parents could support a more effective regulation of emotions, increase the

childs capacity to withstand changes, and encourage the use of effective

coping strategies to deal with these changes.

Second, it could be useful to make parents aware of the main challenges

facing their adolescent during the transition to middle school. The school

could encourage parents in this regard by sending them pamphlets and com-

muniqus a few months before the start of middle school that would explainthe importance of staying involved with their adolescents. In addition, the

school could provide information on, for example, the code of conduct, spe-

cial projects planned for the year, the exam schedule, student services, and

cultural and sports activities. Last, these efforts to promote awareness among

parents could be rounded off by an activity to welcome the new students as

well as talks for parents on topics such as homework supervision, support for

academic motivation, parent-adolescent conflict management, and so on.

Although the present investigation supports the mediation model, severallimitations should be taken into consideration when interpreting these find-

ings. First, based on the correlational nature of the research design, a causal

relation cannot be established between the variables measured in the model.

Although attachment may play a role in teacher-academic worries through

the regulation of emotions, it is just as likely that worries predispose adoles-

cents to develop symptoms of anxiety or depression (see Hammen &

Goodman-Brown, 1990). Moreover, such symptoms may weaken attach-

ment security to parents, which, in turn, could increase the level of teacher-

academic worries. Second, this study focused on symptoms rather than on

emotional disorders. Therefore, it cannot be presumed that the model tested

in this study is applicable to young people with a clinical diagnosis of anxi-

ety or depression. Third, all the scales used in this study were self-reported

by students, which increases the likelihood that the effects obtained can be

attributed to the shared variance method. Future studies should therefore

consider using teachers or parents as additional sources of information.

To conclude, this study showed that the attachment security perceived by

young adolescents in their relationships with their mother is associated withtheir teacher-academic worries about starting middle school. Symptoms of

anxiety seem to be an important mechanism for explaining this relation-

ship. These results help to better understand the role of attachment to par-

ents and emotional problems in the development of teacher-academic




20/25

worries. Moreover, they raise the importance of informing parents about the

changes and challenges that their child will soon have to live through in his

or her transition to middle school such that the child can objectivate his orher perceptions about this transition and, ultimately, reduce his or her wor-

ries. Finally, this study could be enhanced by including multimethod,

multi-informant assessment. Future studies should take account of peer

relations, which represent a major developmental issue in early adolescence

likely to cause major worries and affect the social development of young

people (Holmbeck, Friedman, Abad, & Jandasek, 2006; Wenz-Gross et al.,

1997). These studies should also examine the contribution of potential fac-

tors that have not been considered in this research (behavioral problems,social skills, learning disposition, self-esteem, class climate, etc.).

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Stphane Duchesne is a professor in educational psychology at Laval University (Qubec

City, Canada). He obtained his PhD in educational psychology from the same university

(2000). His main fields of research and teaching are adolescents problem behaviors, family

relationships, school transitions, and academic adjustment. Since 2004, he has been the prin-

cipal investigator of longitudinal studies on the roles of individual and sociofamilial factors in

high school dropouts.

Catherine F. Ratellecompleted a PhD in social psychology at the University of Quebec atMontreal and is now a professor of educational psychology at Laval University. Her main

areas of work are school motivation and family relationships. More specifically, she studies

relational dynamics within families and their role in predicting students motivational proc-

esses as well as academic persistence and adjustment.




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Sarah-Caroline Poitras has been a doctoral candidate at Laval University (Qubec City,

Canada) since 2006. She obtained her masters degree in counseling from the same university.

Her research and teaching fields are related to the factors influencing adolescents persistenceand motivation in studies and careers.

Evelyne Drouinhas been a research professional at Laval University (Qubec City, Canada)

since 2005. She obtained her masters degree in education from the same university. Her research

interests are mainly related to the factors influencing adolescents academic adjustment.


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