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Running Head: ADOLESCENT ATTACHMENT Adolescent Attachment, Peer Relationships, and School Success: Predictor, Mediator, and Moderator Relations Jill Carlivati Distinguished Majors Thesis University of Virginia April, 2001 Advisor: Dr. Joseph P. Allen Second Reader: Dr. Nancy S. Weinfield Acknowledgements Many individuals helped make the writing of my thesis a rewarding learning experience. Through their unselfish support, I met each project challenge confidently as I gained new insights into both adolescent development and research methodology. I thank Dr. Joseph P. Allen not only for his ongoing guidance with the project, but also for his leadership with the Virginia Study of Teens and Families, which provided the framework for my study. My frequent discussions with Dr. Allen on underlying theory and project design proved invaluable. His direction and support provided clarity, discipline, and meaning to my work. Similarly, I express deep appreciation to Dr. Nancy S. Weinfield, not only for serving as my second reader, but also for her instruction on the nature of attachment. Her expertise in this area, as well as her willingness to share this knowledge, enhanced my understanding of adolescent attachment and offered me new insights. Additionally, I extend a sincere thank-you to Heather Tencer for serving as my graduate advisor. Her assistance with data analysis and the observations she made on early versions of the paper were particularly valuable. Other members of Dr. Allen’s lab, particularly Penny Marsh, Felicia Hall, and Maryfrances Porter were also very helpful to me as I pursued my work. I sincerely appreciate their support with SAS programming and school data analysis. Finally, to my family, thank you for first teaching me the importance of parent-child relationships. Abstract Because of the influences of school success on diverse areas of development and the empirically suggested connections among adolescent attachm