Relationship between Attachment to Parents and Peers and Psychological Separation in Freshmen College Students

Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between attachment to father, mother and peers and psychological separation of freshmen students in Tabriz University. Research was done by survey method. For this purpose, 220 undergraduate students were selected by haphazard sampling and completed Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) and Psychological Separation Inventory (Huffman, 1984). To examine the association between subscales of parent and peer attachment (trust, communication, and alienation) and subscale of psychological separation (attitudinal, emotional, conflictual and functional independence), The canonical structure coefficients were used. Results of analyses suggested that the dimensions of emotional independence from mother and conflictual independence from father have significant difference between male and female students. Also, positive communication of father was positively associated with psychological separation of male and female student, but the negative communication of mother and peers was accompanied with loss of conflictual independence from parent and attitudinal independence from mother between male students. Other results revealed that among female student, There was significant relationship between peer trust and inattention, positive communication with father and high trust of him in one side and loss of conflictual and functional independence of mother and attitudinal independence in the other side.