Examining the Association Between Fictive Kin Care, Parental Attachment and Emotional Distress in College Students

<p>Having a supportive and secure relationship with parents can predict less emotional distress in college students. In addition to parental support, many families leverage fictive kin caregivers to provide support. This is especially true in communities of racial and ethnic minorities. The present study investigated the association between fictive kin care, parental relationships, and emotional distress in college students. One hundred fourteen (<em>N </em>= 114) college students completed measures that assessed parental and fictive-kin relationships, social support, and emotional distress. A COVID-19 pandemic-related distress measure was also administered. Three hypotheses were tested. First, it was hypothesized that fictive kin care and parental attachment were inversely associated with emotional distress and positively associated with social support. Second, it was hypothesized that parental attachment moderates the relationship between fictive kin care and emotional distress, especially in situations of low parental attachment. Lastly, it was hypothesized that parental attachment would moderate the relationship between fictive kin care and social support. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between fictive kin care, parental attachment, social support, and emotional distress. Data analysis did not support the stated hypotheses. However, more secure parental attachment and fictive kin care were associated with more perceived social support. More secure parental attachment was also inversely correlated with emotional distress, and women reported more emotional distress than men. Supplemental analyses were conducted and found significant relationships between respondent race and subscales of social support, as well as the length of the fictive kin relationship and emotional distress.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Watts, Roxanne

Contributors dc:contributor

• Bonnie Nicholson, PhD
• Emily Yowell, PhD
• Eric Dahlen, PhD

• fictive kin
• social support
• college students
• emotional distress
• COVID-19
• chosen family
• Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/870

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1933