International Journal of Psychological Studies; Vol. 12, No. 4; 2020 ISSN 1918-7211 E-ISSN 1918-722X Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 19 Personality, Parental Behavior, and Attachment to Close Friends Tea Pavin Ivanec 1 & Antonia Babojelić 1 1 Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb, Croatia Correspondence: Tea Pavin Ivanec, Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb, Savska cesta 77, Zagreb, Croatia. Received: September 30, 2020 Accepted: October 28, 2020 Online Published: November 3, 2020 doi:10.5539/ijps.v12n4p19 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ijps.v12n4p19 Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between young women’s personality traits, perceived parental behavior of their parents, and the dimensions of attachment to close friends. Results generally indicated significant effects of personality traits and parental behavior on attachment to close friends. More specifically, agreeableness was a negative predictor of attachment anxiety, and neuroticism was a positive predictor of the same attachment dimension. Both agreeableness and extraversion were negative predictors of attachment avoidance. Parental behavior was predictive for attachment avoidance in close friendship, while there were no effects of parental behavior on attachment anxiety. Mothers’ supportiveness and restrictive control were negative predictors of attachment avoidance, whereby fathers’ support was a positive predictor of this attachment dimension. The results imply the importance of both personality and parental behavior as determinants of attachment to close friends and also suggest the need for further research of specific associations within the context of these broad theoretical constructs. Keywords: attachment, close friendship, parental behavior, personality traits, young women 1. Introduction Attachment theory introduced by Bowlby presents a broad and widely studied theory of building and maintaining close relationships with significant others throughout the lifespan (Rholes & Simpson, 2015), emphasizing the role of caregivers for the development of emotional bonds. The quality of that bond influences attachment organization, which further affects various developmental outcomes. Attachment-related experiences and interactions affect the development of internal working models (representations of self and the world), and these working models reflect on behavior and expectations in future relationships (Bowlby, 1989). Thus, warm, available, and responsive caregivers foster the development of a secure internal working model, and securely attached children are more likely to initiate positive interactions with others and be confident. Additionally, these children perceive themselves more positively (Allen & Tan, 2016; Keizer et al., 2019; Thompson, 2016), which also helps in initiating social interactions. On the other side, children whose caregivers are insensitive, unsupportive, or rejecting are more likely to develop an insecure internal working model characterized by avoiding others or, on the other side, by excessive attention-seeking (Fraley & Roisman, 2015). Early attachment organization displays relative stability later in life, but it should be noticed that later attachment experiences can also initiate change in internal working models if the current working model contrasts with the prototypical working model (Lai & Carr, 2018; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016). For example, an individual whose attachment to a caregiver is insecure, later in life, may develop a securely attached close relationship with a warm and caregiving person (romantic partner or a close friend). Numerous studies have demonstrated a positive correlation between adult attachment security and adaptive and functional emotional behavior (Chopik et al., 2019; Hershenberg et al., 2011), including an individual’s functioning in different types of close relationships. Accordingly, comprehensive literature on individual differences in attachment organization emphasizes the importance of attachment insecurity for various externalizing problems in the future (Fransson et al., 2013), which also reflects on the quality of social interactions with others and the number of friends (Murakami, 2014). Individual differences in attachment style reflect on how people behave not only in friendships but in broader social networks as well (Gillath et al., 2017). Studies measuring attachment include both categorical (attachment type) and dimensional (attachment dimensions) measures. Brenan et al. (1998) analyzed various attachment measures and concluded that they could be described by two attachment-related dimensions – attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance. Attachment anxiety refers to the level of an individual’s concerns and doubts regarding the rejection and availability of an attachment figure