Adolescents and Their Friendship: How Does Social Interaction Mediate the Relationship Between Mother Attachment and Personal Adjustment?

Adolescents have different personal adjustment skills in coping with changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we find it urgently necessary to further analyze the factors affecting adolescents' personal adjustment. The present study aimed to examine the role of social interaction as mediating the relationship between mother attachment and personal adjustment. Three hundred eight three adolescents aged 15-18 years old were involved in this study as participants (Mean = 16.2, SD: 0.664). They were students from several schools in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Province. The data were garnered using three scales, namely mother-adolescent attachment, social interaction, and personal adjustment scales, and analyzed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS-4. The result showed that social interaction partially mediated the effect of mother-adolescent attachment on personal adjustment. Most adolescents in this study reported low personal adjustment, social interaction, and secure attachment, and moderate avoidant and anxious attachment levels. This research produced a new theoretical model that describes social interaction partially mediates the relationship of motheradolescent attachment on personal adjustment.