The Effect of Parent–Child Attachment on Adolescents’ Belief in a Just World: A Two‐Wave Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT Adolescence is an important period for cognitive development. During this period, the development of an individual's belief in a just world (BJW) is a dynamic process predominantly influenced by cognitive development. Moreover, a substantial body of prior research has demonstrated that BJW impacts adolescents’ mental health and facilitates the establishment of long‐term goals. However, the factors influencing adolescents’ BJW, particularly the role of parental attachment, remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the following: (1) how general and personal BJW develop over time; and (2) how paternal and maternal attachment predict these two types of BJW? A total of 239 sixth‐grade adolescents ( M age = 11.35, SD age = 0.54) participated in a two‐wave longitudinal study, 1 year apart. The results showed that there were no significant changes in the levels of general or personal BJW across the two time points. There was no significant difference between general and personal BJW at Time 1 (T1), whereas general BJW was significantly lower than personal BJW at Time 2 (T2). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that, after controlling for autoregressive effects and demographic variables, only paternal attachment at T1 uniquely and positively predicted general BJW at T2. While maternal and paternal attachment each separately predicted personal BJW, neither retained its unique predictive power when the other was included in the model. This study highlights the influence of parent–child attachment on the general and personal BJW of adolescents, with particular emphasis on the role of paternal attachment.