Parental attachment among Chinese, Italian, and Costa Rican adolescents: A cross-cultural study

•IPPA-R is invariant across Chinese, Italian, and Costa Rican adolescents.•Maternal attachment is culturally different.•Boys report higher communication with father than do girls.•Chinese adolescents are more attached to father than to mother.

The present study investigated the cultural and gender differences in parental attachment and preferred attachment figure. The revised version of Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA-R) was administered to Chinese (N = 350), Italian (N = 352), and Costa Rican (N = 343) adolescents. The results indicated that: (1) the three-factor model of maternal and paternal attachment was optimal; (2) the factor structures of maternal and paternal attachment of IPPA-R were equivalent across countries; (3) Italian adolescents’ maternal attachment was stronger than Costa Rican adolescents, who, in turn, scored greater than did Chinese adolescents; (4) boys scored higher on Communication of paternal attachment than did girls; and (5) Chinese adolescents were less attached to mother than to father. In conclusion, the current research confirms that parental attachment in adolescents is culturally different.