Background: Social skill is a critical asset for adolescents, and early mother-child attachment is an essential contributor to their development. While less secure mother-child attachment is a known risk factor for adolescent social development, the protective factor of neighborhood context in buffering this risk is still not well understood.
Research design: This study used longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 1,876). Adolescent social skills (at age 15) were examined as a function of early attachment security and neighborhood social cohesion (age 3).
Results: Children with higher mother-child attachment security at age three had higher adolescent social skills at age 15. The findings show that there was an interaction effect such that neighborhood social cohesion buffered the relationship between mother-child attachment security and adolescent social skills.
Conclusion: Our study highlights that early mother-child attachment security can be promotive for cultivating adolescent social skills. Furthermore, neighborhood social cohesion can be protective among children with lower mother-child attachment security.
Keywords: Mother-child attachment security; adolescent social skills; ecological systems theory; neighborhood social cohesion.