Influence of attachment styles on romantic relationships.

Examined the impact of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles on romantic relationships in a longitudinal study involving 144 dating couples. For both men and women, the secure attachment style was associated with greater relationship interdependence, commitment, trust, and satisfaction than were the anxious or avoidant attachment styles. The anxious and avoidant styles were associated with less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions in the relationship, whereas the reverse was true of the secure style. 6-mo follow-up interviews revealed that, among those individuals who disbanded, avoidant men experienced significantly less post-dissolution emotional distress than did other people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment style, gender, and relationship stability: A longitudinal analysis.

Examined adult attachment styles in 354 heterosexual couples in serious dating relationships. Principal findings included the following: (1) male and female attachment styles were nonrandomly paired, for example, no anxious–anxious or avoidant–avoidant pairs were found; (2) male and female styles related to concurrent relationship ratings of both partners in different but theoretically meaningful ways; (3) male and female styles contributed significantly to longitudinal prediction of relationship stability and status, even when prior duration and commitment to the relationship were statistically controlled; (4) specifically, relationships of avoidant men and of anxious women were surprisingly stable over 3 years, particularly in light of the relatively poor ratings of these relationships by both partners at Time 1. Discussion focuses on the need to integrate gender role considerations and relationship dynamics and processes into theorizing on adult attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment, attractiveness, and social interaction: A diary study.

To what extent are attachment styles manifested in natural social activity? A total of 125 participants categorized as possessing secure, avoidant, or anxious–ambivalent attachment styles kept structured social interaction diaries for 1 week. Several theoretically important findings emerged. First, compared with secure and anxious–ambivalent persons, avoidant persons reported lower levels of intimacy, enjoyment, promotive interaction, and positive emotions, and higher levels of negative emotions, primarily in opposite-sex interactions. Analyses indicated that avoidant persons may structure social activities in ways that minimize closeness. Second, secure people differentiated more clearly than either insecure group between romantic and other opposite-sex partners. Third, the subjective experiences of anxious-ambivalent persons were more variable than those of the other groups. Finally, the authors examined and rejected the possibility that attachment effects might be confounded with physical attractiveness. These findings suggest that feelings and behaviors that arise during spontaneous, everyday social activity may contribute to the maintenance of attachment styles in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Authenticity and positivity strivings in marriage and courtship.

Proposed that married persons would want their spouses to see them as they saw themselves but that dating persons would want their relationship partners to evaluate them favorably. A survey of 176 married and dating couples tested these predictions. Just as married persons were most intimate with spouses whose evaluations verified their self-views, dating persons were most intimate with partners who evaluated them favorably. For married people with negative self-views, then, intimacy increased as their spouses evaluated them more negatively. Marriage apparently precipitates a shift from a desire for positive evaluations to a desire for self-verifying evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of caregiving in adult intimate relationships: An attachment theoretical perspective.

Romantic couples (N?=?194) participated in an investigation of caregiving processes in adulthood. In Phase 1, couple members completed questionnaires designed to identify attachment style differences in caregiving behavior and to explore the underlying (personal and relationship) mechanisms that lead people with different attachment styles to be effective or ineffective caregivers. Results revealed that social support knowledge, prosocial orientation, interdependence, trust, and egoistic motivation mediated the link between attachment style and caregiving. In Phase 2, responsive caregiving was assessed behaviorally by exposing one member of the couple to a stressful laboratory situation and experimentally manipulating his or her need for support. Results revealed that attachment style and mediating mechanisms identified in Phase 1 also predicted observable support behavior in a specific episode in which a partner had a clear need for support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood emotional abuse and attachment processes in the dyadic adjustment of dating couples.

In an effort to improve understanding of the mechanisms that link early maltreatment to later outcomes, this study investigated the mediation effects of adult attachment processes on the association between childhood emotional abuse and later romantic relationships among heterosexual couples. College students and their dating partners (N = 310; 155 couples) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Experiences in Close Relationship Scale, and Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Using the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006), multilevel modeling results indicated that memories of childhood emotional abuse reported by both students and their partners were significantly associated with attachment strategies, as well as romantic relationship quality. Findings supported hypothesized mediation effects of attachment anxiety and avoidance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A safe haven: An attachment theory perspective on support seeking and caregiving in intimate relationships.

This study used an attachment theoretical framework to investigate support-seeking and caregiving processes in intimate relationships. Dating couples (N?=?93) were videotaped while one member of the couple (support seeker) disclosed a personal problem to his or her partner (caregiver). Results indicated that when support seekers rated their problem as more stressful, they engaged in more direct support-seeking behavior, which led their partners to respond with more helpful forms of caregiving. Responsive caregiving then led seekers to feel cared for and to experience improved mood. Evidence for individual differences was also obtained: Avoidant attachment predicted ineffective support seeking, and anxious attachment predicted poor caregiving. Finally, couples in better functioning relationships engaged in more supportive interactions, and participants' perceptions of their interaction were biased by relationship quality and attachment style. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural and temperamental variation in emotional response.

To examine the relative influence of cultural and temperamental factors on emotional response, we compared the emotional behavior, reports of emotional experience, and autonomic responses of 50 European American (EA) and 48 Chinese American (CA) college-age dating couples during conversations about conflicts in their relationships. EA couples showed more positive and less negative emotional behavior than did CA couples, despite similarities in reports of emotional experience and autonomic reactivity. Group differences in emotional behavior were mediated by cultural (values and practices) but not temperamental factors (neuroticism and extraversion). Collapsing across groups, cultural factors accounted for greater variance in emotional behavior but lesser variance in reports of emotional experience compared with temperamental factors. Together, these findings suggest that the relative influence of cultural and temperamental factors on emotion varies by response component. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When "New" Meets "Old": Configurations of Adult Attachment Representations and Their Implications for Marital Functioning.

Two studies addressed the implications of concordance versus discrepancy of attachment representations in individuals at 2 stages in their marital relationships. Engaged (n = 157) and dating (n = 101) couples participated in a multimethod 6-year longitudinal study of adult attachment. Individuals completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), the Current Relationship Interview (CRI), and various questionnaires and were observed in interactions with partners. On the basis of AAI and CRI classifications, participants were placed in one of four groups: SecureAAI/SecureCRI, SecureAAI/lnsecureCRI, InsecureAAI/SecureCRI, or InsecureAAI/InsecureCRI. Each of the configurations showed a particular pattern of behavior, feelings about relationships and the self, and likelihood of relationship breakup. The findings of the studies address important points about the protective effects of attachment security and have interesting implications for the extension of attachment theory into adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attraction and exchange in continuing and noncontinuing dating relationships.

Investigated measures enabling one to assess general feelings about a relationship, social exchange behaviors, and the particularism and symbolism of resources given to and received from another by examining, longitudinally, 38 dating couples. At least 1 member of each pair was an undergraduate student. These variables were first measured shortly after a couple began to date and again 4 mo later. Findings show that in contrast to what might be expected from prevailing theories of relationship development, the later status of couples (still dating or not) could be predicted with a high degree of accuracy from the initial measures. This finding corroborates and extends previous work dealing with same-sex friendships. Couples who were still dating 4 mo later demonstrated greater love, more relationship-maintaining behaviors, more favorable evaluations of the dating relationship, and greater amounts of self-disclosure at the time of initial contact than did couples who broke up. Over time, these differences between couples who did and who did not continue dating intensified. In terms of the types of resources Ss gave and received from their dating partner, more particularistic and more symbolic resources were exchanged in continuing couples only later. Although both continuing and noncontinuing couples showed a decrease in the correlation between the love that members reported, this was offset in continuing daters by increasingly similar reports of reward, equity, and liking. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Secure base processes in couples: Daily associations between support experiences and attachment security.

The authors examined secure base functioning in couples by studying the association between daily social support experiences and attachment security in a 14-day daily experiences study of 114 heterosexual dating couples. Both members of each couple reported on daily relationship-specific attachment security and support sought, provided, and received, as well as felt support. Within- and cross-partner associations were examined, as were reciprocal associations between support and security. Results of over-time Actor-Partner Interdependence Model analyses indicated that security (in the form of high comfort with intimacy and low anxiety about abandonment) was associated with the most adaptive support experiences, whereas high anxiety about abandonment was associated with the least, and particularly with a lack of sensitive caregiving. Implications for understanding secure base dynamics in couples are discussed and guidelines for where to intervene as well as what to target in relationship distress prevention programs are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Elicited effects of approval and disapproval: An examination of parameters having implications for counseling couples in conflict.

Explored the elicited effects of changes in approval and disapproval behaviors on the behaviors and perceived satisfaction of dating partners. 80 dating couples role-played conflict situations, and their behaviors were observed by trained raters. The couples periodically reported their perceptions of their behaviors. Four of the 5 hypotheses were substantiated. Disapproval was found to elicit strong reciprocal behavior and dissatisfaction. Approval eliciting effects occurred but were weaker. Male elicitors, in particular, felt less satisfied and less powerful. The potential implications of these results for behavioral treatment of couples are discussed. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Attachment style and relationship satisfaction: Test of a self-disclosure explanation": Erratum.

Reports an error in "Attachment style and relationship satisfaction: Test of a self-disclosure explanation" by J. Patrick R. Keelan, Karen K. Dion and Kenneth L. Dion (Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1998[Jan], Vol 30[1], 24-35). Some figures were inadvertently omitted in two tables. The correct tables are provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1998-01141-003.) Explored a self-disclosure explanation for why those with a secure attachment style report greater relationship satisfaction than those with insecure attachment styles. Ss were 99 17–36 yr old students who were in ongoing relationships and who had different attachment styles. Ss were compared in terms of the self-disclosures they directed toward their partner vs a stranger, using questionnaire and behavioural measures. Behavioural self-disclosure was assessed by having Ss give talks on different topics, while anticipating that either their current partner or an opposite-sex stranger would later hear it. Results show that Ss with a secure attachment style disclosed more intimately to their partners than to strangers; whereas those with insecure attachment styles did not. Moreover, secures disclosed more personal facts to their partners than to strangers and were also perceived as more comfortable while self-disclosing to partners than to strangers. Finally, support for the hypothesis that self-disclosure mediates the relation between attachment style and relationship satisfaction was found on one component of self-disclosure, facilitative disclosure, a component which included both reported self-disclosure to one's partner and self-rated ability to elicit disclosure from others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital behavior and the security of preschooler–parent attachment relationships.

Longitudinal and concurrent relations among positive and negative marital behaviors in 2 contexts and preschoolers' security of attachment were examined for 53 families. At 6 months postpartum, couples were observed in their homes during couple discussion and family play. At 3 years, parents completed the Attachment Q-Set (E. Waters, 1987); marital and parenting behavior was also observed. Interparental hostility during family play at 6 months predicted less secure preschooler–mother attachment. Greater marital conflict at 3 years was associated with less security with mother and father, whereas positive marital engagement at 3 years was associated with more secure child-father attachment. Mothers' parenting partially explained the linkages between marital behavior and child–mother attachment. These results highlight the impact of positive and negative marital behaviors on children's abilities to use their parents as a secure base. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict in close relationships: An attachment perspective.

This study investigated how perceptions of current dating partners and relationships change after people with different attachment orientations attempt to resolve a problem in their relationship. Dating couples were videotaped while they tried to resolve either a major or a minor problem. Confirming predictions from attachment theory, men and women who had a more ambivalent orientation perceived their partner and relationship in relatively less positive terms after discussing a major problem. Observer ratings revealed that more ambivalent women who tried to resolve a major problem displayed particularly strong stress and anxiety and engaged in more negative behaviors. Conversely, men with a more avoidant orientation were rated as less warm and supportive, especially if they discussed a major problem. These results are discussed in terms of how highly ambivalent and highly avoidant people differentially perceive and respond to distressing events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult attachment styles: Their relations to family context and personality.

This study used a sample of 304 adults to examine mean differences in family climate and personality variables on the basis of individuals' attachment styles. Also examined was whether mean differences varied by age group. Findings showed significant main effects of attachment style, but no Attachment Style X Age Group interactions. Compared with adults with an insecure attachment style, persons with a secure attachment style described their family of origin and their current family more positively and scored higher on personality variables indicative of self-confidence, psychological well-being, and functioning in the social world. When the family climate and personality variables were included in a discriminant function analysis, 2 significant functions were obtained. The 1st function discriminated adults with a positive self-model from those with a negative self-model. The 2nd function contrasted participants with a positive other-model from those with a negative other-model. Thus, this study provided evidence in support of the self- and other-models as the fundamental dimensions of adults' attachment system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

When the head protects the heart: Empathic accuracy in dating relationships.

This study investigated circumstances in which romantic partners may be motivated to inaccurately infer each other's thoughts and feelings. Dating couples rated and discussed pictures of opposite-sex people with whom they might later interact in a dating context. Couples evaluated either highly attractive persons or less attractive persons. As predicted, dating partners who were close, who were insecure about their relationship, and who evaluated highly attractive opposite-sex persons displayed the least empathic accuracy when they tried to infer each other's actual thoughts and feelings from the videotape of the rating and discussion task. The effects of these variables were additive, and they were mediated by the degree of perceived threat to the relationship. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

America's angriest home videos: Behavioral contingencies observed in home reenactments of marital conflict.

Sequential analysis was used to compare the conflictual marital interactions of 17 physically aggressive (PAG), 15 verbally aggressive, 18 withdrawing, and 15 nondistressed, low-conflict (NDLC) couples to describe behavior patterns characteristic of couples who report different marital conflict styles. Videotapes of couples enacting typical conflicts in their own homes were coded with a system designed to capture the affective aspects of communication. PAG couples were characterized by the reciprocity of hostile affect and by rigid, highly contingent behavior patterns that were both stronger and longer lasting than those of other conflictual, but nonviolent, couples. In a limited way, NDLC couples demonstrated some of the same negative behavior patterns as the conflictual couples, but they were able to exit these negative interaction cycles quickly, which underscores the importance of further research into the de-escalation of conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of adult attachment styles on the association between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms.

This study tested the hypothesis that attachment styles moderate the relationship between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms among husbands and wives. In a sample of 91 married couples, ratings of the anxious-ambivalent attachment style moderated the relationship between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms for both husbands and wives. Additionally, ratings of the secure attachment style moderated the relationship between marital adjustment and depressive symptoms for wives, with a trend for husbands. These findings suggest a relationship between insecurity and a predisposition to depressive symptoms in marital relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The language of demand/withdraw: Verbal and vocal expression in dyadic interactions.

Associations between vocally expressed emotional arousal, influence tactics, and demand/withdraw behavior were examined in a treatment-seeking sample of 130 seriously and stably distressed, married, heterosexual couples and in a community sample (N = 38) of 18 married heterosexual and 20 dating heterosexual couples. Fundamental frequency was used to measure emotional arousal, and computational linguistics were used to measure influence tactics. Higher levels of demand/withdraw behavior were associated with greater use of manipulative and controlling influence tactics, higher levels of emotional arousal, and less frequent use of cooperative and compromising influence tactics. Overall, demanders tended to express more arousal and to use more influence tactics than withdrawers. Both influence tactics and emotional arousal were uniquely associated with demand/withdraw behavior. Implications of results are discussed for refining theories of demand/withdraw interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)