The role of culture, attachment style, and parenting style in predicting estrangements

Abstract

Social estrangements have negative effects on people's emotion and social lives (Geher et al 2019). The current research is designed to shed light on this general issue to help us better understand the predictors of estrangements. Participants of at least 18 years in age were surveyed in both the United States and in India. A Qualtrics survey was used to collect data from participants. It measured their attachment styles, perception of their parents' parenting styles, cultural orientation, and estrangement history. To obtain the sample, recruitment methods included advertising the Qualtrics survey link on social media, SUNY New Paltz Psychology Subject Pool, and MTurk. A total of 434 (India = 119, US = 315) participants took part (M = 25.82, SD= 8.073). Results are in line with the hypotheses. Although culture is not significantly con-elated with estrangements in this study, there are cultural differences in the number of estrangements one has. Estrangements are negatively con-elated with Authoritative Parenting style, positively correlated with Authoritarian Parenting style, positively correlated with Ambivalent Attachment style, and negatively correlated with Secure Attachment style. Based on these results, the current research concludes that culture, parenting styles, and attachment styles are predictors of estrangements. Implications of this research and future directions are discussed.