Attachment and Satisfaction at the Empty-Nest Stage: An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model

Abstract

This study used the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model to examine the impact of adult attachment on marital and parental satisfaction among a sample of 165 heterosexual couples who were at the empty-nest stage of the family life cycle. In the hypothesized model, attachment dimensions (i.e., secure, anxious/ambivalent, avoidant) served as independent variables to predict each partner’s marital and parental satisfaction. The results of a path analysis revealed that husbands’ and wives’ anxious/ambivalent attachment was negatively associated with their own and their partners’ marital satisfaction. In addition, findings showed that husbands who had high levels of avoidant attachment had lower levels of marital and parental satisfaction, and their wives also had lower levels of parental satisfaction. Moreover, partner effects indicated that wives’ avoidant attachment was negatively associated with their husbands’ parental satisfaction. These findings are discussed in terms of interdependence and gender differences between spouses regarding their experiences of marital and parental roles at the empty nest.