Romantic Attachment Orientations Research Articles

The moderating role of parenting stress when it comes to romantic attachment and sexual satisfaction

Sexual satisfaction is at the heart of a thriving romantic relationship and is intertwined with both partners romantic attachment orientations. Prior research has found that insecure romantic attachment orientations (anxiety and avoidance) are associated with lower sexual satisfaction in oneself and one’s partner. Stress is known to exacerbate insecure attachment tendencies, and couples with children are often exposed to parenting stress, which has been associated with lower sexual satisfaction. It is therefore possible that parenting stress moderates the association between the attachment and sexual systems, such that among those who are high in parenting stress, the negative link between attachment insecurity and sexual satisfaction is stronger. The objective of this study was to examine the link between romantic attachment and sexual satisfaction, and the impact of parenting stress on this association. One hundred three mixed-sex couples completed self-report questionnaires and were included in actor and partner analyses. Both parents’ attachment avoidance was associated with their own reduced sexual satisfaction. Fathers’ attachment avoidance was associated with mothers’ reduced sexual satisfaction. Additionally, fathers’ parenting stress moderated the association between their own romantic attachment avoidance and their partner’s sexual satisfaction. Contrary to prediction, as fathers’ parenting stress increased, the association between their higher attachment avoidance and mothers’ lower sexual satisfaction became weaker. Findings are discussed in light of research and theory on the role of attachment and parenting stress for sexual satisfaction in couples with children.

Romantic attachment, infertility-related stress, and positive body image of women dealing with infertility.

Infertility is a condition that can affect the physical, emotional, social, and relational well-being of women. Women's bodies seem to assume a crucial relevance as part of the experience of infertility and its treatments. An extended body of literature supports the role of romantic attachment orientations in facing infertility-related stress. However, the association between romantic attachment orientations, infertility-related stress, and women's body image has not been explored. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the role of romantic attachment and infertility-related stress concerning positive body image in 113 women dealing with infertility. Data were analyzed with correlation and mediation path analyses. Results showed that high levels of attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and infertility-related stress were negatively associated with positive body image. Path analyses indicated that positive body image may be directly associated with romantic attachment anxiety. The negative association of attachment avoidance with body image appeared to be mediated by infertility-related stress. Findings suggest that romantic attachment insecurities and infertility-related stress are significantly associated with a worsened body image in infertile women. Implications for future research are discussed.

The (bidirectional) associations between romantic attachment orientations and mate retention behavior in male-female romantic couples

Attachment orientations of anxiety and avoidance are associated with many important romantic relationship outcomes. An evolutionary perspective has informed research on the associations between attachment orientations and mate retention behaviors, which individuals perform to retain their romantic partner and maintain their relationship. In the current article, we report two dyadic studies (n = 104, United States; n = 978, Germany, Switzerland, Austria) that evaluated: (1) whether bivariate associations between attachment orientations and mate retention domains are replicable; (2) whether an individual's attachment orientation predicts their partner's mate retention behaviors; and (3) whether, over time, mate retention behaviors predict attachment orientations within couples. Results of both studies replicated previous bivariate associations between attachment anxiety and cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors. Longitudinal dyadic data from Study 2 demonstrated that cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors, specifically, predict future attachment anxiety in romantic partners. These results contribute to the emerging body of research addressing the associations between attachment orientations and mate retention behaviors, and suggest an important (bidirectional) role of attachment anxiety in predicting negative partner-directed behaviors in romantic relationships.

Romantic Attachment Orientations, Financial Behaviors, and Life Outcomes Among Young Adults: A Mediating Analysis of a College Cohort

Guided by the Vulnerability-Adaption-Stress model (Karney and Bradbury 1995), we used data from 635 college-educated young adults to examine associations between romantic attachment orientations (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and young adults’ life outcomes (i.e., financial satisfaction, life satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction; Aim 1). We also conducted a mediating model to examine indirect associations from romantic attachment orientations to life outcomes via young adult’s own financial behaviors and perceived partners’ financial behavior (i.e., each young adult’s perception of their partner's financial behaviors; Aim 2). For Aim 1, high attachment anxiety and/or high attachment avoidance was associated with low life satisfaction and low relationship satisfaction. For Aim 2, high attachment anxiety was associated with low financial satisfaction and low life satisfaction via young adults' own less responsible financial behaviors. Further for Aim 2, high attachment anxiety and high attachment avoidance were associated with low relationship satisfaction via perceived partners’ less responsible financial behavior. Across these two aims, we found that romantic attachment orientations were associated with financial behaviors and, in turn, life outcomes. We suggest researchers and practitioners consider romantic attachment orientations when seeking to understand and improve financial behaviors and life outcomes among young adults.

Age Differences in Romantic Attachment Around the World

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential universality of age differences in romantic attachment. Relatively few studies have investigated attachment processes beyond young adulthood and very little is known about age differences in romantic attachment orientations in geographic regions outside North America. We examined attachment anxiety and avoidance among 90,904 Internet respondents in 81 countries. Attachment anxiety was highest among younger adults and lowest in middle-aged and older adults. Attachment avoidance was lowest among younger adults and highest in middle age and older adults. Further, the patterns of age differences were universal across individualistic and collectivistic regions. Findings are discussed in the context of normative social roles and the universality of their influence on life span personality development.

A pain in her arm: Romantic attachment orientations and the tourniquet task

Prior research has linked attachment anxiety to heightened perceptions of chronic pain. However, few studies have examined attachment and acute pain, and none of these to our knowledge have included partner attachment effects in a dyadic context. Sixty‐five healthy undergraduate women were exposed to an ischemic pain task in the presence of their romantic partners. As expected, women's higher attachment anxiety predicted lower pain thresholds, greater subjective pain, and greater catastrophizing. Higher avoidance was associated with longer pain tolerances and, unexpectedly, lower physiological arousal. More avoidant and more anxious women responded negatively to pain when accompanied by a high‐anxiety romantic partner. Implications exist for attachment insecurity and hyperactivating emotion regulation strategies as vulnerability factors in coping with pain.

Correlates of Psychological Abuse Perpetration in College Dating Relationships

This study examined the contributions of gender, adult romantic attachment orientations (i.e., avoidance, anxiety), defense mechanisms (i.e., narcissism, other‐splitting), and stressors to college student psychological abuse perpetration (dominance). Men with higher levels of attachment avoidance, narcissistic entitlement, and stressful problems reported more dominance of female partners. Women with higher levels of other‐splitting reported more dominance of male partners. Attachment avoidance contributed to women's dominance of male partners only in the context of elevated narcissistic entitlement or few stressors.

Volunteer client attachment moderates the relationship between trainee therapist attachment and therapist interventions

This study explored the association between attachment security of therapists (alone and in interaction with clients' attachment) and therapist interventions in early sessions of short-term psychotherapy. Trainee therapists and volunteer clients (N=24) in short-term therapy completed the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998) as a measure of adult romantic attachment orientations. Therapist interventions were identified and related to client and therapist attachment orientation. Results indicated that in early therapy sessions client attachment moderated the relationship between therapist attachment and therapist interventions. Specifically, avoidantly attached therapists intervened with more directive interventions when clients were high in attachment avoidance.

Ambivalent Attachment and Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Romantic and Parent-Child Relationships

In recent years, an increasing amount of attention has been devoted to investigating the interpersonal origins of depression and depressive symptoms. Guided by attachment theory and interpersonal models of depression, we describe a diathesis-stress model that has guided our research on how romantic attachment orientations (or styles) are associated with depressive symptomatology. The model presented in this article suggests that when anxious-ambivalent people experience stressful events, they display specific perceptual and behavioral reactions that lead to depressive symptoms. Studies that provide empirical support for parts of the model are discussed. In addition to describing the psychological processes that might exacerbate depressive symptoms in highly ambivalent individuals, the model also identifies novel “pathways” to depression and briefly introduces new theoretical concepts—the constructs of dysfunctional relationship attitudes and relationship deprivation.

Attachment orientations, marriage, and the transition to parenthood

This study examined how a major life stressor—the transition to parenthood—impacts marital satisfaction and functioning in persons with different romantic attachment orientations. As hypothesized, if highly ambivalent women entered the transition perceiving low levels of spousal support, they experienced significant declines (pre-to-postnatal changes) in perceptions of spousal support and marital satisfaction, and their husbands reported significant declines in support giving and marital satisfaction. Changes in both spouses’ satisfaction were mediated by pre-to-postnatal changes in wives’ perceptions of spousal support. That is, highly ambivalent women who perceived less prenatal support reported significant declines in perceived support over time, which in turn predicted significant declines in their marital satisfaction. These results highlight the critical role that perceptions of support assume when highly ambivalent women encounter a major life stressor.