The importance of attachment to fathers in Latinx mental health

Abstract

The impact of attachment to fathers on mental health in Latinx communities is understudied and not fully understood, though extant research focusing on maternal attachment forms a solid base of knowledge regarding the importance of attachment (to mothers) on mental health. The broad aim of this study was to examine the importance of paternal attachment in relation to maternal attachment on mental health in Latinx young adults. The current study used two large, young adult samples: one collected in Latin America ( n = 774) and one collected in the United States ( n = 1084). We hypothesized that paternal attachment would be a significant predictor of internalizing (emotional symptoms), externalizing (hyperactivity, conduct problems), and interpersonal (social problems, prosocial behavior) functioning beyond maternal attachment. Exploratory analyses examined whether paternal communication, trust, or feelings of alienation, three established facets of attachment, differentially related to mental health outcomes. Findings broadly supported hypotheses, as attachment to fathers made a significant, incremental contribution to all outcome variables. Further, paternal alienation emerged as a potent potential risk factor, while paternal trust emerged as a potential protective factor for mental health outcomes in these samples. This study is the first to endeavor to understand the links between paternal attachment and mental health beyond maternal attachment in two distinct samples with varying immigration statuses, countries of residence, and cultural norms and has important implications for working with Latinx populations from a clinical, assessment, and research standpoint.

Attachment and Social Support in Latinx Young Adults: Investigating the Moderating Role of familismo

“…Tentatively, it appears that insecure attachment with fathers can be compensated for, to some extent, by the cultural value of familismo and that no such association exists for maternal attachment. This finding, while preliminary, adds to a new literature base regarding differential associations of paternal and maternal attachment in relation to Latinx young adult outcomes (Venta et al, 2021).…”

“…The IPPA has also been translated for use in Spanish with satisfactory psychometrics (Delgado et al, 2016; Gallarin & Alonso-Arbiol, 2013). In line with IPPA instructions and prior studies, all participants were instructed to answer parental attachment items about their biological mother and father, even if not their current guardian (Venta et al, 2021). In this study, we used the IPPA mother attachment (Cronbach’s alpha = .96) and father attachment total scores (Cronbach’s alpha = .96) in initial analyses.…”

Adverse childhood experiences in Central American migrant high schoolers: Maternal attachment buffers relation with nonsuicidal self-injury and suicide attempts.

“…While the majority of attachment research has historically focused on the significance of maternal attachment, it is worth discussing research equally emphasizing the importance of paternal attachment security on mental health outcomes (Agerup et al, 2015; Murray & Murray, 2010; Wong et al, 2020), including among Latinx groups. Indeed, prior research has found greater paternal attachment security to be associated with fewer mental health difficulties, even after controlling for the effects of maternal attachment in Central American migrant groups (Venta et al, 2022). Maternal and paternal attachment relationships have also been shown to differ among Latinx groups due to effects of cultural factors, such as gender dynamics (Cabrera & Bradley, 2012; Updegraff et al, 2009).…”

Fathers’ presence and adolescents’ interpersonal relationship quality: Moderated mediation model

“…In addition, several researchers have examined the key role of fathers in children’s growth, in particular with regard to matters such as gender equality, individual mental health, children’s early academic success, less truancy, the development of children’s autonomy and moral system, etc., ( Baker et al, 2018 ; Papaleontiou-Louca and Al Omari, 2020 ; Grau et al, 2022 ; Venta et al, 2022 ; Waqar et al, 2022 ). There have also been studies that emphasize the importance of fathers to children’s growth from the perspective of the father’s absence.…”