TUESDAY, Nov. 23, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Poverty, depression and family conflict are associated with long-term, negative changes in teens' attitudes toward personal relationships, according to a study by the Society for Research in Child Development.
The study looked at what psychologists call "attachment security" -- a person's ability to openly and directly seek out and value close relationships while at the same time maintaining perspective and balance in those relationships.
Previous research found that poor attachment security in teenagers was associated with a number of problems such as substance abuse and criminal behavior, and that these outcomes can be passed on to succeeding generations.
This new study assessed attachment security in 101 ninth and tenth-graders. The study found that teens can become increasingly insecure when faced with certain stress factors -- poverty, depression, and family conflict -- that overwhelm their coping abilities and cut them off from opportunities to rely on close relationships for support.
Improved efforts to reduce poverty in families with teens and to meet the mental health needs of depressed teens and those experiencing high levels of family conflict may lead to long-term improvements in adolescent social development, the study authors said.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about your teen's emotional health.
