When protection leads to insecurity: Examining the cross‐lagged relationship between overparenting and attachment style

Abstract Adolescence marks an important stage in attachment development, during which parental parenting plays a significant role in shaping adolescent outcomes. This study explored the bidirectional relationship between parental overparenting and adolescents' attachment style. To this end, we used a two‐wave cross‐lagged model over a 6‐month interval with a sample of primary and middle school students ( N = 1897) from Sichuan Province, China. Results showed that maternal and paternal overparenting positively predicted both attachment anxiety and avoidance. Adolescents' attachment anxiety and avoidance also predicted parental overparenting. In addition, paternal overparenting did not predict maternal attachment style, and maternal overparenting did not predict paternal attachment style. These findings indicated that overparenting may link to the reinforcement of adolescents' attachment styles, which may in turn encourage further overparenting. The results of this study not only deepened our understanding of attachment theory but also provideed guidance for optimising family educational practices.