Attachment and Spiritual Maturity 45
retrospective memories ofmother and father along two dimensions. The Care scale
assesses the recollected experience of parental warmth, empathy, affection, and closeness.
The Over-protection scale emphasizes memories of control, intrusion and prevention of
autonomous behavior. Using a 4-point scale (1 = very like and 4 = very unlike),
participants rate each parent according to how accurately the item corresponds with their memories of parental behavior during their first 16 years of life.
This instrument is included to address the limitations of a forced choice measure.
Researchers, including Hazan and Shaver (1987), are quick to point out the limitations of
the forced-choice measure. They suggest with a limited number of themes addressed in
each description within a forced-choice format, the measure is likely to possess limited
reliability.
This instrument has been used extensively with both nonclinical and clinical
populations (Parker, 1993). There is precedent for using the PBI to examine the
relationship between child and adult relationship (Lopez, 1997; Weich, Lewis, & Mann,
1996). Scores on the PBI have been significantly correlated with subsequent development
ofdepression (Parker et al. 1979), parent-child conflict (Mackinnon, Henderson, and
Scott, 1989), and perceived social support (Sarason, Sarason, & Shearin, 1986). The
research has indicated that attachment bonds bear at least some relationship to a number
of adult personality variables.
Parker ( 1993) initially reported split-half reliabilities of .88 and .74 for the Care
and Protection scales, respectively. Test-retest reliability of .76 and .63 for the two
scales were obtained. The validity of the PBI when used with nonclinical populations also has been
supported. Heiss and Berman (1996) conducted a study to examine the convergent and
construct validity of five measures ofcontinued parental attachment. Parker's Parental
Bonding Instrument was one of the five. The factor analysis conducted on the subscales
of the five attachment measures provided evidence to support construct validity.
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