Beyond GPA: The Impact of Secure Attachment on Motivation, Engagement, and Achievement in College

Abstract

This study explores how secure attachment formed during childhood and adolescence influences college students’ academic motivation, engagement, and achievement. The correlation between secure attachment and academics during childhood and throughout the formative years has been studied, but the research lacks support for these attachments into adulthood. During the college years success has often been measured with cognitive attributes like GPA, but this study aims to dive deeper into non-cognitive attributes and consider a wholistic view on the individual and how they may be affected by whether the individual had a secure attachment during childhood or adolescence. Moreover, one must ask if students who develop a secure attachment during the formative years have higher adjustment levels in college than those who do not. Academic adjustment will have three components: academic motivation (internal interactions with the self), academic engagement (external interactions with others), and academic achievement (GPA). This study surveyed 364 students enrolled at a South-Central public university, and there was sufficient evidence to conclude that students who reported having a trusted caregiver during childhood or adolescence, in situations of emotional distress, demonstrate higher academic motivation academic engagement , and academic achievement  compared to those who did not. This indicates that early supportive experiences with a caregiver carry lasting effects into adulthood. The data does not provide strong enough evidence to confirm within this sample that in situations of having a trusted caregiver during physical distress in the formative years leads to higher levels of academic adjustment.

Keywords: Secure Attachment, Academic adjustment, Motivation, Engagement, Higher Education, College, Success

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/16-11-05

Publication date: October 30th 2025