Adolescents’ nonverbal emotional expressions during negotiation of a disagreement with their mothers: An attachment approach

Abstract

The present study investigates the influence of attachment representation on adolescents’ nonverbal behaviour during an observed mother-adolescent interaction task. In a follow-up of the Regensburg longitudinal study, 43 (of the original 51 participating families) 16-year-old adolescents and their mothers were observed in a short revealed differences task. Ekman and Friesen’s (1978) facial expression descriptions were used in the second-by-second analysis of the adolescents’ facial expressions. The analysis assessed emotional states (anger, sadness, surprise, uneasiness, joy, smiling), manipulators or adapters as signs of tension (biting of lips, biting nails), emblems, and eye contact. Concurrently, adolescents were given the Adult Attachment Interview to assess their attachment representations using Kobak’s Adult-Attachment-Interview Q-sort. Results showed a significant relationship between adolescent attachment representation and adolescent nonverbal facial expression during the interaction task. Attachment security was related to open and positive expression of emotion, whereas dismissive attachment style was associated with communication inhibiting behaviour. The results are congruent with attachment theory claiming that coherent emotional appraisals of one’s own attachment history is a prerequisite to open emotional expression and communication of one’s feelings to others.