Effect of Attachment Styles on Perceived Family Environment

The present research aims to study the effect of attachment styles on perception of family environment and to observe whether there is any relationship between the two dimensions of attachment (viz., anxiety and avoidance) and the eight dimensions of family environment (viz., perceived cohesiveness, perceived expressiveness, perceived conflict, perceived acceptance & caring, perceived independence, perceived active recreational orientation, perceived organisation and perceived control) among female college students. A random sample of 156 female college students responded to the Family Environment Scale (Bhatia & Chaddha, 1993) and the Emotions in Close Relationships – Revised Scale (Fraley et al., 2000). The results revealed that attachment styles have significant effects on perceived cohesiveness, perceived conflict, perceived acceptance & caring, perceived independence and perceived active recreational orientation. The findings are discussed in details in the paper. Such an understanding of the effect of attachment styles on the perception of family environment, as furnished by this study, is instrumental in optimizing the young persons’ adjustment with their environment.