Romantic Attachment Style and Emotional Intelligence of Adolescents with Migrant and Non-Migrant Mothers: A Correlational Study

Abstract

The study focused on the romantic attachment style and emotional intelligence of the adolescents with migrant and non-migrant mothers. The adolescent-respondents are the college students of the Bulacan State University whose age ranges from 16-19 years old, involved in a relationship and enrolled in the current school year 2011-2012.  The findings of the study include the following: (1) the level of anxious attachment of the adolescents with migrant and non-migrant mothers were identified as “moderate anxious attachment†and “low avoidance attachmentâ€; (2) the level of emotional intelligence of the adolescents with migrant and non-migrant mothers was determined as “high†in terms of taking responsibility, handling relationships, creativity and empathy but “moderate†in terms of personal autonomy, knowing one’s emotion and self-reliant; (3) there is no significant difference between the romantic attachment of the adolescents with migrant and non-migrant mothers in terms of anxious and avoidance attachment; (4) there is no significant difference between the emotional intelligence of the adolescents with migrant and non-migrant mothers in terms of taking responsibility, handling relationships, personal autonomy, knowing one’s emotions, creativity, empathy and self-reliant; (5) anxious attachment showed no significant relationship with the emotional intelligence of adolescents with migrant mothers while avoidance attachment exhibited significant relationship with emotional intelligence in terms of taking responsibility, handling relationships, and empathy; and (6) anxious attachment showed significant relationship with the emotional intelligence of adolescents with non-migrant mothers in terms of knowing one’s emotions while avoidance attachment exhibited significant relationship with emotional intelligence in terms of handling relationships.

Keywords: Romantic attachment style, Emotional intelligence, Migrant and non-migrant.