Clarifying links between attachment and relationship quality: Hostile conflict and mindfulness as moderators.

Abstract

In this study we examined self-reported hostile conflict and mindfulness as potential moderators of the links between attachment and relationship quality over time in a sample of 1,702 online respondents. The analyses revealed that both attachment anxiety and avoidance were associated with lower levels of current relationship quality and attachment avoidance was linked with lower relationship satisfaction over time. The results offered partial support for the moderation hypotheses with attachment anxiety but failed to support moderation of attachment avoidance. Specifically, when predicting relationship satisfaction, hostile conflict moderated the effect of attachment anxiety such that high hostile conflict and high attachment anxiety were associated with particularly low current satisfaction. Shifts in hostile conflict over time also exacerbated the longitudinal associations between attachment anxiety and relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, mindfulness moderated the effects of attachment anxiety on stability such that high levels of mindfulness seemed to buffer relationships from the increased risk of breakup associated with high levels of attachment anxiety. Implications for research and treatment are discussed.