Aspects of the marital relationship that characterize secure and insecure attachment in men and women

Crístofer Batista Da Costa,Clarisse Pereira Mosmann

doi:10.1590/1982-0275202037e190045

Crístofer Batista Da Costa, Clarisse Pereira Mosmann

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0275202037e190045

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Abstract

Abstract The internalized attachment in childhood has consequences in the adult life, specifically in the marital life, which demands greater closeness, intimacy and interdependence. In this sense, it was analyzed whether the communication, marital adjustment, frequency, intensity and conflict resolution variables discriminate individuals with secure and insecure attachment in heterosexual relationships. It is a quantitative, descriptive and explanatory study. Data from 485 participants were collected in the south of Brazil through the following measures: Experience in Close Relationship, Marital Conflict Scale, Conflict Resolution Behavior Questionnaire, Communication Questionnaire and Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. The results of the discriminant analysis indicated that the variables tested characterize secure or insecure attachment. Therefore, the type of attachment is a relevant resource in the assessment of individual and marital functioning. Psychotherapy interventions are discussed considering the relational bias of the attachment theory and the results observed in the scientific literature.

Highlights

The internalized attachment in childhood has consequences in the adult life, in the marital life, which demands greater closeness, intimacy and interdependence
The Function Values (F) indicate that, for men, negative values correspond to the independent variables that characterize secure attachment, and positive values refer to the variables that characterize an insecure attachment style
The opposite is true for women, negative values correspond to the independent variables that characterize insecure attachment, and positive values to the variables that characterize a secure attachment style (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

The internalized attachment in childhood has consequences in the adult life, in the marital life, which demands greater closeness, intimacy and interdependence In this sense, it was analyzed whether the communication, marital adjustment, frequency, intensity and conflict resolution variables discriminate individuals with secure and insecure attachment in heterosexual relationships. This assumption, combined with the Systemic and Humanistic/Existential theories, gave rise to the Emotionally Focused Therapy (Hardy & Fisher, 2018; Semensato & Alves, 2013; Wiebe & Johnson, 2016), an approach that has stood out in the treatment of couples for being one of the available evidence-based therapies (Costa, Delatorre, Wagner, & Mosmann, 2017)

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