A study on Family Structure and Attachment Style of Runaway Girls and the

Using a Pretest-Posttest desing this study attempted to assess family structre of runaway girls and their attachment styles during the first stage. The Sample consisted of 50 subjects from five centers including: juvenilce system, welfare crisis intervention center, the counseling center at School of Education, first district Reihaneh halfway house, and the prisoners of juvenile delinquencies. During the second stage, 15 participants with insecure attachment styles and dysfunctional family structure, took part in ten therapeutic sessions (using family and supportive therapy methods). Assessment instruments were Family Assessment Device (FAD), Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS), Adult Attachment Questionaire. The validity and reliability of these instruments have been found to be high in a previous investigation in Iran. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (means, standard diviation, percentages), non parametric tests like McNemar and Sign test Chi Square, Parametric tests like the Statistical Z test for comparing proportions, Paired-Samples T test, and Analysis of Variance (one way). Results showed (that: a) the family structure of runaway girls is dysfunctional and level of function in their sub-scales: “family roles”, “problem solving”, and “emotional responsiveness”, were lower than the societal norms; b) there was a positive significant consistency between the results obtained in this research, one may conclude that parents’ behavior patterns affect the children’s biological behavioral and, therefore, the parents may positively influence their children by acting in a right manner.