A longitudinal analysis of parental bonds and relational competencies during the college years

Abstract

This two-wave longitudinal study spanning the college years examined average change in adolescent-parent bonds, subgroup patterns in change, continuity of bonds, and continuity in the associations between bonds and relational compencies among 247 students attending a large, state-supported southwestern university. Consistent with theoretical approaches emphasizing the enduring nature of family bonds, no average change was found in adolescent-parent relationships during the transition to young adulthood, and correlational evidence indicated continuity in bonds over time. Differences in parental relationships occurred based upon student employment, source of financial support, and distance between home and university. Total correlations between latent constructs representing parental bonds and relational competencies were similar at the two times of measurement; a substantial portion of the T2 relationship between constructs was accounted for by the T, relationship and across-time continuity. An exploratory cluster analysis suggested differential change in parental bonds and competencies for those categorized in a high-scoring cluster on all variables at both time points versus those categorized in a high-scoring cluster at T1 and a low-scoring cluster at T2, and differing patterns of change by gender. © 2000, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.