Attachment and subjective well-being in Chilean adolescents: differential contribution of maternal and paternal attachment

The relationship between the quality of parental attachment and subjective well-being has been extensively studied. However, this relationship has been little addressed in the Latin American context, as well as the differential contribution of attachment to the mother and to the father on subjective well-being in adolescents. The aim of this research was to evaluate the association between the dimensions of attachment to both parental figures (quality communication, mutual trust and anger or alienation) and subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect) in Chilean adolescents. For this purpose, a cross-sectional correlational study was conducted, in which 421 adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age participated. The adolescents completed the Parent and Peer Attachment Inventory, in its brief version (IPPA short), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Brief Scale to Assess Positive and Negative Affect (PNA-10). The results show that all the dimensions of attachment to the mother figure were associated with the subjective well-being of the adolescents, whereas only the dimension of the quality communication with the father was related to subjective well-being. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.