Adult attachment and modes of resolving conflicts between partners in couple therapy

Abstract

This article describes research correlating the attachment styles and modes of conflict resolution of forty couples with relationship problems. The sample consisted of two groups of heterosexual couples receiving couple psychotherapy: one in the process of reconciliation and the other in the process of divorce. The results of both groups showed partners mainly having a dismissing attachment style and using competition to resolve conflicts. There was a statistically significant correlation between the attachment styles of partners in the reconciliation group, and a high correlation between them in both groups in relation to their modes of resolving conflict. The results are compared with results from non-clinical couple populations and considered from the perspectives of attachment and other psychoanalytic theories.