Internal Working Models Of Parental Relationships: Exploring Predictors Of Emotional Functioning During Emerging Adulthood

Parental relationships have consistently been associated with emotional functioning across child and adolescent development. However, fewer studies have explored perceptions of parental relationships during emerging adulthood. Drawing upon attachment theory, the purpose of this study was to examine the associations between internal working models of parental relationships and emotional functioning during early adult development. Undergraduates (N = 197) completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of trust, communication, and alienation in their relationships with their parents as well as self-reported emotional reactivity and rumination. The findings suggest perceptions of alienation in parental relationships may be associated with maladaptive emotional functioning. Participant reports of parental alienation were associated with both emotional reactivity and rumination during emerging adulthood. Further, maternal and paternal alienation interacted such that perceiving high alienation from just one parent was associated with overall higher anger rumination, regardless of the perceived level of alienation from the other parent. The findings from the current study contribute to the growing literature supporting the association between parental relationships and emotional functioning during emerging adulthood. Relationships with parents, particularly a sense of alienation from either mothers or fathers, may predict emotional functioning during emerging adulthood.