the role of attachment styles in satisfying basic psychological needs of children with regard to mothers’ employment status

the aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between attachment styles (secure, avoidant and ambivalent) and satisfying basic psychological needs of children (independence, competence and relevance) with regard to mothers’ employment status. the subjects included 409 high school students selected randomly by multi-stage cluster sampling method. instruments were: attachment styles questionnaire (sharp et. al., 1998 cited in gilbert & irons, 2005) and satisfaction basic psychological needs scale (gagne, 2003). the result of multiple regression analysis indicated that secure attachment predicts significantly and positively the satisfaction of relatedness. it didn’t have a significant relationship with competence and autonomy needs. avoidant and ambivalent needs and attachment styles significantly and negatively predict satisfaction needs for autonomy, competency and relatedness. employment status of the mother did not predict satisfying basic psychological needs significantly.