ERIC Number: EJ871495
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Feb
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1062-1024
EISSN: N/A
The Effect of Interpersonal Touch during Childhood on Adult Attachment and Depression: A Neglected Area of Family and Developmental Psychology?
Takeuchi, Mika S.; Miyaoka, Hitoshi; Tomoda, Atsuko; Suzuki, Masao; Liu, Qingbo; Kitamura, Toshinori
Journal of Child and Family Studies, v19 n1 p109-117 Feb 2010
Interpersonal touch has been little studied empirically as an indicator of parent- and peer-child intimacy. Undergraduate students (n = 390) were studied using a questionnaire survey regarding the frequencies of interpersonal touch by father, mother, same-sex peers, and opposite-sex peers during preschool ages, grades 1-3, grades 4-6, and grades 7-9, as well as their current attachment style to a romantic partner and current depression. A path model indicated that current depression was influenced significantly by poorer self- and other-images as well as by fewer parental interpersonal touches throughout childhood. Other-image was influenced by early (up to grade 3) parental interpersonal touch. Our findings suggest that a lower frequency of parental touching during childhood influences the development of depression and contributes to a poorer image of an individual's romantic partner during later adolescence and early adulthood.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Intimacy, Attachment Behavior, Adolescents, Developmental Psychology, Depression (Psychology), Questionnaires, Peer Relationship, Parent Child Relationship, Gender Differences, Tactual Perception, Self Concept, Child Development, Parent Influence
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Grade 1; Grade 2; Grade 3; Grade 4; Grade 5; Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; Grade 9; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A