Abstract

This study investigated the origin of adult romantic attachment and 'maternal strength hypothesis'. Longitudinal data from 36 participants(20 males; 16 females) of the "Longitudinal Study of Korean Children", conducted by the Korean Institute for Research in the Behavioral Science(KIRBS), was analyzed. This data included attachment patterns at age 26, self-concepts at age 16, and parent-child relationships at age 7. The results indicated that adult romantic attachment was related to mental representations of parents in childhood. Specifically, mental representation of relationship with one's mother was related more strongly to adult attachment than to inner representation of relationship with one's father. Additional findings revealed self-model in adolescence appeared to mediate the relationship between mental representation of relationship with one's mother in childhood and romantic attachment in adulthood. In particular, warm and responsive representation of one's mother in childhood influenced positive self-model in adolescence which, in turn, influenced secure attachment in adulthood.