Principal investigator Hannah Miller after defending her honors thesis.

Author: Hannah Miller | Major: Social Work | Semester: Spring 2023

During the Spring 2023 semester, I continued and completed my social work research study under guidance from my honors thesis chair, Dr. LaShawnda Fields, an assistant professor in the school of social work at the University of Arkansas. My study focused specifically on whether relationships exist between one’s experience with family in childhood and their patterns of attachment in adulthood.

In January, I continued to advertise my research study on social media while polishing up my literature review. In total, 185 participants completed my quantitative research study.The survey included questions about experiences with family before turning 18. For example, participants indicate which family members were present in their home consistently and the relationship of their parents or primary caregivers with one another. Additionally, the survey included questions derived from the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ), an evidence-based measurement of adult attachment. I adapted the RSQ to measure attachment more generally so that individuals who may not have experienced an adult romantic relationship would not be excluded from participating in the study.

My study was originally designed to be mixed-methods. However, I had to omit the qualitative data due to an inability to access the scoring instructions for the interview protocol I selected, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). I discovered that the AAI is only accessible to professionals who have completed training on how to deliver the AAI and interpret results. Although this was disappointing, I learned a lot from the experience of interviewing participants and am grateful for that experience. Additionally, I was able to securely store my data, which I hope to incorporate in a future study that builds on the findings from my undergraduate research study.

By the end of February, I stopped collecting survey responses and focused on scoring, analyzing, and interpreting my data. I reached out to the professor who designed the Relationship Scales Questionnaire, the primary tool incorporated into my survey to measure adult attachment, to determine the best scoring methods for the measure. Once receiving the instructions, I worked with a statistician to score the data and run the scores through SPSS. With his help, I was able to analyze and interpret my data accurately.

I was really excited when it was finally time for me to interpret the results of my study. It was a very rewarding moment to see the result of a project my advisor and I had poured time and effort into for over a year. It was even more exciting when my data confirmed one of my hypotheses! My study found that participants whose guardians remained married or in a committed partnership throughout childhood demonstrate lower anxiety and avoidance than those whose guardians live separately, due to divorce, separation, or other factors. Although my study was very basic in terms of structure and limited in its ability to measure diverse experiences, it did observe a relationship that I and other researchers can build upon in future studies.

Although my experiences designing, conducting, and interpreting my research study were extremely valuable, my favorite part of the experience was discussing my study with my thesis committee, Dr. LaShawnda Fields, Professor Susan Tyler, Dr. Amanda Terrell, and Dr. Ron Warren. After my thesis defense in April 2023, I was able to discuss my research study and findings with experts in three different fields: communications, human development and family sciences, and social work. The discussion we had provided me with an incredible learning experience, and I really enjoyed the way they challenged my thought process and interpretations of my findings. Our discussion also made me excited for my future research projects in my Master’s of Social Work program.

The Honors College grant I received allowed me to achieve success in recruiting participants and providing compensation for interviewees. Additionally, the grant supported me as I took time off of work to focus more attention on completing my study and results by April 2023. Without the grant, completing my study would have been much more difficult.

Overall, my experience with undergraduate research at the University of Arkansas was overwhelmingly challenging, but extremely rewarding. I was able to contribute to the knowledge surrounding adult attachment, which will inform future studies and practice that will allow professionals to guide clients in pursuing healthy relationships in adulthood. Additionally, this experience allowed me to gain research experience as a principal investigator which will contribute to my success as I pursue graduate school this next year.