Separation-individuation, adult attachment style, and college adjustment

The authors examined the relationship between separation-individuation, adult attachment styles, and college adjustment One hundred fifty-six young adults completed the Psychological Separation Inventory (J. A. Hoffman, 1984; J. A. Hoffman & B. Weiss, 1987), 2 subscales from the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (R. W Baker & B. Siryk, 1989), a measure of pathology of separation-individuation (R. M. Christenson & W P Wilson, 1985), and assessments of adult attachment style (K. Bartholomew & L. Horowitz, 1991). College adjustment was positively associated with secure adult attachment and counterindicated by fearful and preoccupied attachments. Implications for counseling practice and directions for future research are discussed.