The relationship between attachment styles and identity styles with social competence of high school students

Dissertation to receive Master degree (M.A)

Tension: Educational

Dissertation abstract (including summary, objectives, implementation methods and obtained results):

This research was compiled with the aim of investigating the relationship between attachment styles and identity styles with social competence of high school students. This research is a correlational research. The statistical population includes all female secondary school students in Gilan, Gharb city, Kermanshah province. The sample of this research was selected using the stratified random sampling method. 240 people were selected. Social adequacy questionnaires, identity styles questionnaire, and attachment styles questionnaire were used. Data have been used using descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, histogram and inferential statistics, multivariate regression analysis and Pearson correlation.  The results showed that there is a relationship between attachment styles and social competence of high school students. There is a relationship between identity styles and social competence of high school students. It means that there is an inverse and significant relationship between the scores of avoidant and ambivalent attachment styles with the social competence of students, but no significant relationship was observed between the scores of secure attachment and the social competence of students. An inverse and significant relationship was confirmed between the confused identity style scores and students' social competence at ?=0.01, and also a direct and significant relationship (P?0.01) was confirmed between informational, normative, and identity commitment styles with students' social competence.

Keyword: attachment styles, identity styles, social competence

Introduction

about Social adequacy has been given several definitions by psychologists and sociologists. Adequacy is generally the relationship that each organism establishes with its environment. Its implicit meaning is that people engage in a continuous process of expressing their talents, reacting to the environment and at the same time changing it in an effective and healthy way (Afsharniakan, 2010).

In addition, it can be said that when the physical and mental balance of a person is disturbed in such a way that the person is in an unpleasant state, and in order to create balance, he needs to use internal and external support forces, and in this way, he succeeds in using new mechanisms. to solve it correctly, the process of sufficiency has taken place (Islami Nasab, 1383). But social adequacy refers to a situation in which people adjust themselves gradually, intentionally or unintentionally, to adapt to the existing culture, such as following habits, custom, or imitation (Mosaibi, 2007). And this will not be true unless the child tastes this emotionality and maternal and paternal love in the same environment and establishes a suitable emotional relationship with his parents, thus preparing the ground for the formation of a suitable identity and positive and constructive social adaptation. Undoubtedly, the type of emotional connection with parents or the type of attachment style [1] is one of the most influential factors, in how the identity of teenagers is formed, every child born is the first person he sees and touches at birth. In fact, the child is saying goodbye to the closed and safe world of a movement that reveals the lost security with the loving embrace of the mother, and this base is full of emotion, the foundation of the first emotional bonds and communication schemas in the baby. Undoubtedly, it involves the psychological and emotional security of the child in the first few years of life, and perhaps the long-term effects of maternal emotions include the scope of a person's life (Balbi [2], 1969). The way attachment styles are formed and addressed has a great relationship and influence on the development of social competence, because social competence means that individuals or groups adjust their behavior and adapt to social culture and norms. (Ismaili, 1380).

Human growth does not end with the passing of childhood, but it is a continuous process, with a range from birth to adulthood and finally old age, after childhood, a period called adolescence [3] begins. In fact, this period is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. This period does not have a clear age limit, but it starts from the age of 12 and continues until the last years of the decade of life, that is, until reaching full physical development. During this period, the adolescent reaches sexual and physical maturity and separates his individual identity from the family identity (Atkinson et al.[4]; quoted by Brahni et al., 2012).

An important task of adolescence is the formation of identity[5].Identity is a connected set of personal values ??related to career goals, communication and religious and fluid values ??(Erikson[6], 1968).

Identity in psychology is considered one of the characteristics of a person's personality, as in most definitions of identity, this issue lies in how we define ourselves (Hajiani, 2017). Access to a stable identity not only provides a unified sense of self but also allows for future advancement and compromise throughout life (Faber et al., 2003). One of the important issues of human evolution is the process of identity formation. This process starts from birth and reaches its peak during adolescence. In fact, one of the main tasks of adolescence in society is the formation of identity (Razmi, 2013). Glasser[8] (1982; quoted by Razmi, 2013) believes that identity is the need to feel separate and distinct from others. They have it from birth to death (Glasser, 1982; quoted by Razmi, 2013).

Seligman (1991) believes that in general, the formation of a successful identity in teenagers is the product of four factors of cognitive development, communication with parents, experiences outside the family and other broad social contexts, among these factors, the role of the family and emotional connections within it in the formation of identity have been emphasized in such a way that a large number of researchers believe that The child's relationship with his parents affects the formation of his identity.

Statement of the problem

When a person adopts a behavior to achieve a desired result, that behavior should be available. Negotiation, role-playing, self-expression, conversational skills to start and continue social interactions, learning skills and learning to be friendly with others are considered to be the main components of behavioral skills) emotional and emotional restraint is the third component that is necessary for establishing positive relationships with others, creating and expanding trust and mutual support relationships, identifying and responding appropriately to emotional symptoms in social interactions or stress management,) motivational skills including a person's valuable structure, level of moral development and A person's sense of effectiveness and control becomes his ultimate sense of self-efficacy (Felner et al., 1990).

Balbi (1969) quoting Yazdani (1390) legislated the process of the formation of attachment between the baby and the mother and showed how the system of feelings and attachment behaviors keeps the baby close to the mother and away from danger, and separation from the mother will cause anxiety and helplessness in the child. The mother's sensitivity, responsiveness and active presence and the baby's regular access to her draw the main lines of safe attachment in the child. From this safe base, which includes the child's trust in others and himself, exploratory behavior is strengthened and social activity is expanded. When the mother is indifferent to the rejector, attachment characteristics are formed based on lack of trust in self and others. Based on this, attachment is the product of a person's real experiences regarding the sensitivity, responsiveness and active and regular presence of the mother during the years of infancy, childhood and adolescence. In the context of adult relationships, most researchers agree on the importance of attachment as one of the aspects of communication and its evolutionary continuity.

Adolescence is a period with many physical and mental changes, the most important issue that arises in this period is the issue of personal identity development, which means that a person must answer the following questions: "Who am I?", "Where is my destination?", "Where is my social position?", "What is my future job?" To answer these questions, which will continue for several years, is to search and explore a phenomenon called identity. Answering these questions may not be very easy, but finding the right answer will be of great benefit to teenagers and the surrounding society. It is not so easy for teenagers to choose the possible ways and values, because they face a wide range of possible choices and they have to make a decision according to the variety of choices (Ismaili, 2010).

If the family is a safe base that the teenager can safely move towards the world of adults, the identity will be strengthened.