Date of Award

4-1999

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. John S. Geisler

Second Advisor

Dr. Robert Bertz

Third Advisor

Dr. Paula Andrasi

Abstract

This study examined the quality of parental and peer attachments among Malaysian students studying at universities in the midwestern region of the United States. The study was conducted in two phases. Two hundred and two students (106 male, 96 female) participated in the first phase of the study, and 8 students (4 male, and 4 female) participated in the second phase of the study. Phase One employed a cross-sectional quantitative design using a self-administered questionnaire [the Inventory of Parental and Peer Attachment (IPPA) developed by Armsden and Greenberg (1987)] and revised by the researcher. This instrument has 53 items that measured the quality of parental and peer attachments. Phase Two of the study employed the qualitative approach involving interviews, observations and documentation as techniques for data collection. An “Interview Protocol” consisting of 29 open-ended questions was developed by the researcher to facilitate data collection.

Data collected were then analyzed using two approaches: ( I ) descriptive and inferential statistics for data collected from the first phase of the study, and (2) transcription, coding, and reduction for data collected from the second phase of the study. A Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to examine the relationship between parental and peer attachment scores. Two-way and One-way Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) were used to determine differences in parental and peer attachments among the Malay students with different age groups, gender, and length of stay in the United States. Six hypotheses were tested at an alpha .05 level of significance. The correlation coefficient value suggested a low negative correlation between parental and peer attachment scores. Analyses of variance determined that differences in parental and peer attachment existed among students with different age groups and across gender.

Data analyzed using the transcription, coding, and reduction processes yielded 12 overriding themes surrounding the issues of trust (six themes), communication (four themes), and alienation (two themes). The twelve themes were: (1) understanding, (2) respect, (3) mutual trust, (4) accessibility, (5) responsiveness, (6) expectations, (7) extensiveness, (8) quantity, (9) quality, (10) modes of communication, (11) emotional alienation, and (12) physical alienation.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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