Asymmetry in self-other agreement on attachment style among romantic partners

This research reports about asymmetrical relations in self-other ratings of attachment style. Specifically, results showed that romantic partners hold relatively accurate perceptions of each other’s attachment styles with one exception: women’s ability to judge their male partner’s level of attachment-related anxiety was compromised compared with the other agreement indices measured. The effect was not moderated by acquaintanceship length or relationship satisfaction, but it was affected by men’s interpersonally oriented self-control. The findings appear to reflect men’s reluctance from appearing anxious to their female partners and from the nature of the anxiety dimension of attachment. Anxiety (as compared with avoidance) has a less consistent interpersonal behavioral manifestation and thus is more concealable among those motivated and capable of doing so.     

Working models of attachment and reactions to different forms of caregiving from romantic partners

Inspired by attachment theory, the authors tested a series of theoretically derived predictions about connections between attachment working models (attachment to one's parents assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview; M. Main & R. Goldwyn, 1994) and the effectiveness of specific types of caregiving spontaneously displayed by dating partners during a stressful conflict-resolution discussion. Each partner first completed the Adult Attachment Interview. One week later, each couple was videotaped while they tried to resolve a current problem in their relationship. Trained observers then rated each interaction for the degree to which (a) emotional, instrumental, and physical caregiving behaviors were displayed; (b) care recipients appeared calmed by their partners' caregiving attempts; and (c) each partner appeared distressed during the discussion. Individuals who had more secure representations of their parents were rated as being more calmed if/when their partners provided greater emotional care, especially if they were rated as more distressed. Conversely, individuals who had more insecure (dismissive) representations of their parents reacted more favorably to instrumental caregiving behaviors from their partners, especially if they were more distressed. The broader theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The role of attachment in influencing reactions to manipulated feedback from romantic partners

A study of 80 couples (mean age 24) examined the impact of attachment patterns on reactions to manipulated positive or negative feedback, ostensibly from partners. As expected, individuals high in attachment anxiety reported more negative mood and the least indifference to partner feedback. In addition, those high in attachment anxiety reported more negative reactions to negative feedback compared to those low in anxiety. Those high in attachment anxiety reported lower self‐competence after receiving negative feedback than those low in anxiety. Further, reactions to manipulated feedback mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and self‐competence. Attachment models play a role in determining reactions to partner feedback and moderate how feedback is used to maintain self‐views. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prospective effects of interparental conflict on child attachment security and the moderating role of parents' romantic attachment.

This study investigated the impact of parents' observed conflict behavior on subsequent child attachment security, both as a main effect and as moderated by parents' romantic attachment. Participants were 80 heterosexual couples involving men from the Oregon Youth Study and their first-born children. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling to predict child security with each parent. Interparental psychological aggression predicted lower child security with father, regardless of romantic attachment. If the father was insecure, interparental positive engagement predicted lower child security with him. If either the mother or father was avoidant, interparental withdrawal did not predict lower child security, though it did for more secure parents. Results are discussed in terms of implications of attachment-(in)congruent behavior for parents' emotional availability.     

Understanding attachment security in family context

Attachment theory (J. Bowlby, 1969) is not just about how internalized models of relationships affect interpersonal outcomes; it is primarily a theory about how interpersonal processes affect social and cognitive development. This study tested 3 hypotheses about the interpersonal sources of adult attachment security: (a) attachment security is relationship specific, (b) characteristics of partners affect attachment security, and (c) security of attachment is reciprocated. Measures of attachment security were obtained from 2 parents and 2 children (adolescent or older) in 208 middle-class families. Results of social relations model analysis (D. A. Kenny & L. La Voie, 1984) supported all 3 hypotheses. The author concludes that internal working models of relationships may not be so "internal" after all and that greater emphasis on the interpersonal sources of adult attachment security is warranted.     

The adult attachment interview and self‐reports of romantic attachment: Associations across domains and methods

Two lines of research on adult attachment have emerged; both are based on Bowlby and Ainsworth's attachment theory, which in turn relies on evolutionary theory. Investigators in one tradition use the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to assess “state of mind with respect to attachment.” The AAI has been validated primarily by its ability to predict the attachment classification of an interviewee's child in Ainsworth's “strange situation.” Investigators in the second tradition use self‐report measures to assess romantic “attachment style.” The self‐report measures have been validated by their ability to predict features of romantic/marital relationships. Although the two constructs. state of mind and romantic attachment, are importantly different and so would not be expected to relate highly, some of their components, especially ability to depend on attachment figures, should be related if both stem from a person's attachment history. We report associations between components, or aspects, of the two measures. Overlap occurs mainly in the areas of comfort depending on attachment figures and comfort serving as an attachment figure for others. Implications of the findings for attachment theory and research, as well as for evolutionary psychology, are discussed.     

Invasive partners: an exploration of attachment, communication and family patterns

Therapists'ratings on a sample of heterosexual couples receiving marital or partnership counselling were used to develop measures of'invasive'behaviour by the adults concerned. We suggest that this behaviour stems from difficulties in attachment and is marked by a desire to stay close to the other person, difficulties in communication, difficulties in handling relationships between three people, and problems associated with the birth of a baby. A particular feature of this behaviour is that one or other partner attempts to restrict communication from the other, perhaps in order to avoid surprises which are perceived as a threat to the relationship. Invasiveness by wives was high in those couples who had had problems after the birth of a baby and significantly lower in those who had not. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Not all attachment relationships develop alike: Normative cross-sectional age trajectories in attachment to romantic partners,best friends,and parents

Previous research has found that age is negatively correlated with general-romantic attachment anxiety and positively correlated with general-romantic attachment avoidance. The present study examined cross-sectional age trajectories in global attachment, as well as relationship-specific attachment with romantic partners, best friends, mothers, and fathers. Across all specific relationships, older individuals reported higher attachment avoidance. In contrast, attachment anxiety with romantic partners and friends was negatively associated with age, whereas attachment anxiety with parents normatively increased as a function of age. These findings underscore the importance of examining the normative age trajectories of attachment across both global and specific levels of abstraction.     

More than words: reframing compliments from romantic partners fosters security in low self-esteem individuals

Although people with low self-esteem (LSEs) doubt their value to their romantic partners, they tend to resist positive feedback from their partners. This resistance undermines their relationships and has been difficult to overcome in past research. The authors investigated whether LSEs could be induced to take their partners' kind words to heart by manipulating how abstractly they described a recent compliment. In 3 studies, LSEs felt more positively about the compliments, about themselves, and about their relationships--as positively as people with high self-esteem (HSEs) felt--when they were encouraged to describe the meaning and significance of the compliments. The effects of this abstract meaning manipulation were still evident 2 weeks later. Thus, when prompted, LSEs can reframe affirmations from their partners to be as meaningful as HSEs generally believe them to be and, consequently, can feel just as secure and satisfied with their romantic relationships.     

Personality, family history, and competence in early adult romantic relationships

The present investigation tested how well family characteristics and the personality traits assessed by the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (A. Tellegen, 1982) measured in late adolescence predict aspects of romantic relationships in early adulthood. Nurturant-involved parenting practices and personality traits were related to observed negative interactions and to couples' reports of relationship quality. These results from a prospective longitudinal study suggest that the origins of competence in romantic relationships can be found both in individual differences in personality (especially in negative emotionality) and in differences in developmental experiences. Discussion further develops an account of relationship success and dysfunction that integrates proximal factors, such as couple interactions, with more distal factors such as personality and socialization experiences.     

Competence in early adult romantic relationships: a developmental perspective on family influences

The present prospective, longitudinal study of 193 young adults (85 men, 108 women, M = 20.7 years old) and their partners in ongoing romantic relationships in 1997 was initiated in 1989, when the 193 target youths were in the 7th grade. On the basis of the model for the development of early adult romantic relationships (DEARR; C. Bryant & R. D. Conger, in press), the authors hypothesized that interactional processes in the family of origin would predict interpersonal skills by the target youths, which would be positively related to the early adult couple's relationship quality. Observational ratings showed that nurturant-involved parenting in the family of origin predicted behaviors by the target youth to a romantic partner that were warm, supportive, and low in hostility. These competent behaviors of the target youth were positively associated with relationship quality for the early adult couple and also mediated or explained the connection between parenting and relationship quality.     

The adult attachment interview and the relationship questionnaire: Relations to reports of mothers and partners

The study asked the following questions: How do interview and self-report assessments of attachment status correspond? What is the relation between attachment status assessed by these methods to self-reports of relationships with mothers and partners? Participants were 53 married white women assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), and a variety of questionnaires assessing love, trust, and closeness in relationships with mothers and partners. Results indicated a trend toward a relation between AAI and RQ classifications: 81% of women classified as Secure with the AAI identified themselves as Secure with the RQ, but only 42% of AAI-Insecure women identified themselves as Insecure with the RQ. Secure and Insecure AAI groups did not differ in their reports of mothers or partners, whereas Secure and Insecure RQ groups did. Results indicated classifications derived from the measures are not equivalent.     

Perceptions of the physical attractiveness of the self, current romantic partners, and former partners

This study examined ratings of physical attractiveness of the self and former and current partners. A total of 304 participants completed measures of attractiveness, relationship satisfaction, love dimensions, self-esteem and sociosexual orientation. Consistent with previous work, results showed that participants rated their current partners as more attractive than themselves and their former partners. However, results also showed that former partners were rated as more attractive than the self on a number of bodily characteristics. Finally, results showed that ratings of former partner physical attractiveness were associated with passion for the former partner, self-esteem, sociosexual orientation, and attributions of relationship termination. These results are discussed in relation to the available literature on positive illusions in intimate relationships.     

Attachment and dependence regulation within daily interactions with romantic partners

For 2 weeks, 74 New Zealand undergraduate students recorded their reactions to two components of situational dependence during interactions with their romantic partner: low personal control and high partner impact. Lower personal control predicted lower perceived regard and intimacy, greater partner derogation and withdrawal (self‐protective dependence regulation), and reduced attempts to improve interaction quality (relationship‐promotive dependence regulation). Participants also reported greater self‐protective dependence regulation the more their partner was impacting on their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. As expected, more anxious individuals reported higher drops in perceived regard and greater self‐protective dependence regulation when experiencing lower control, whereas more avoidant individuals reported lower regard and reduced relationship‐promotive behavior when experiencing stronger partner impact. The links between attachment and dependence are discussed.     

Attachment style and two forms of affect coregulation between romantic partners

This study examined 2 forms of affect coregulation in 48 cohabiting heterosexual couples who provided daily ratings of positive and negative affect for 21 days. Coregulation was operationalized as covariation in partners’ daily levels of affect and coupling of the rates of change of partners’ affective cycles. Both forms of coregulation were detected, and both were moderated by attachment style. These results are interpreted with respect to the timescales and time courses of each form of coregulation, suggesting that covariation may be more sensitive to discrete affective episodes unfolding during couples’ shared time together, whereas coupling may be a longer term process in which partners manifest sensitivity to one another’s overall patterns of affective fluctuation.     

Secure attachment and material reward both attenuate romantic jealousy

Research has shown that social support and materialism can both serve as coping mechanisms, reducing individuals’ experiences of physical and social pain (Zhou and Gao in Psychol Inq 19(3–4):127–144, 2008). We extend this paradigm by testing the buffering effects of secure attachment and material reward on a specific form of social psychological pain: romantic jealousy. Two studies examined the effects of these variables after an imagined relational threat. Participants were primed with (a) secure attachment, (b) material reward, or (c) neutral control, and then responded to a hypothetical scenario involving their romantic partners behaving flirtatiously with a rival. Results from both studies showed that the secure attachment and material reward primes both attenuated jealous responses to the provoking stimuli, relative to the neutral control prime. Neither trait attachment styles nor chronic jealousy moderated the priming effects in Study 1, but attachment styles did slightly moderate the priming effects in Study 2.     

Insecure romantic attachment dimensions and frequency of mate retention behaviors

Individual differences in attachment bonds may influence the performance of mate retention behaviors. Because anxiously attached individuals are hypervigilant to partner rejection cues, we hypothesize that individuals higher in anxious attachment will perform more frequent mate retention behaviors. Because avoidantly attached individuals evade intimacy with their partners, we hypothesize that individuals higher in avoidant attachment will perform less frequent mate retention behaviors. Participants (N = 469) in a romantic relationship completed measures of romantic attachment and mate retention behaviors. The results provide support for the study hypotheses but also reveal that avoidantly attached women perform more frequent mate retention behaviors that deter intrasexual rivals. We discuss limitations of this research and highlight directions for research on romantic attachment, mate retention behaviors, and infidelity.     

Reliability and validity of the revised experiences in close relationships (ECR-R) self-report measure of adult romantic attachment

Three studies examine the psychometric properties (i.e., the test-retest reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity) of Fraley, Waller, and Brennan's Revised Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR-R) self-report measure of romantic attachment anxiety (model of self) and avoidance (model of others). Longitudinal analyses suggest that the ECR-R provided highly stable indicators of latent attachment during a 3-week period (85% shared variance). Hierarchical linear modeling analyses further validated the ECR-R, suggesting that it explained between 30% to 40% of the between-person variation in social interaction diary ratings of attachment-related emotions experienced during interactions with a romantic partner and only 5% to 15% of that in interactions with family and friends. Guidelines are offered regarding the conditions where highly reliable and precise measures of romantic attachment, such as the ECR-R, are deemed necessary and where shorter, albeit slightly less reliable measures, such as Bartholomew and Horowitz's Relationship Questionnaire, may also be viable.     

Attachment,perceptions of care and caregiving to romantic partners and friends

Across two studies, we examined the extent to which adults' caregiving responses reflect the quality of care received from their attachment figures. Study 1 showed that romantic caregiving reflected the quality of perceived parental and partner care. Moreover, perceived partner care mediated the link between parental care and romantic caregiving, suggesting that one's parental care affects the type of care one seeks or receives from partners, which in turn affects one's romantic caregiving. This describes a possible process for the intergenerational transmission of caregiving styles. Romantic attachment anxiety was associated with compulsive caregiving to partners. Study 2 examined causal mechanisms by priming a representation of perceived peer care and examining its effect on caregiving responses. As hypothesized, caregiving responses reflected the quality of primed peer care and were associated with attachment orientation. Findings provide evidence that individuals mentally represent the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of the care‐seeker and the caregiver during interactions and both influence one's caregiving to partners and friends. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Truth and bias in daily judgments of support receipt between romantic partners

The perception that a partner is supportive, tied to beneficial relational and personal outcomes, may be shaped by reality (the partner's actual support) but is often also biased. Using T. V. West and D. A. Kenny's (2011) truth‐and‐bias model, the balance between truth and one bias type—the tendency to maintain perceived mutuality by projecting one's own supportiveness onto one's partner—was examined. It was hypothesized that this balance will be altered by the behavior's psychological significance and by the scope of the behavior being judged. In a 35‐day diary, 80 couples reported perceived and provided emotional/practical support. Participants' judgments included less biased projection when they addressed behaviors of lower emotional significance or greater contextual specificity.