This study examines the relationships between parental attachment, peer attachment, and
subjective feelings of emotional loneliness. Three alternative models were tested in a group
of 440 graduating psychology students at Ghent University in Belgium. The first hypothesis
explored the linear causal relationship between parental attachment, peer attachment,
and feelings of emotional loneliness. The second hypothesis tested the direct relationship
between parental attachment and feelings of emotional loneliness, and the third hypothesis
examined the reciprocity between feelings of emotional loneliness and peer attachment. Using
Structural Equation Modeling, results showed that peer attachment mediates strongly between
parental attachment and feelings of emotional loneliness. The direct contribution of parental
attachment to feelings of emotional loneliness was rather weak. Finally, feelings of emotional
loneliness did not contribute significantly to the explanation of peer-attachment style.