Is it really that important to you? How the topics of conflict and emotional reactions to conflicts explain the associations between attachment insecurities and relationship satisfaction. (2nd December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dugal, Caroline; Brassard, Audrey; Lussier, Yvan; Péloquin, Katherine
• Is Part Of: Journal of marital and family therapy. Volume 49:Number 1(2023)
• Page Start: 260
• Page End: 279
• Publication Date: 2022-12-02
• Subjects: attachment insecurities -- couples -- emotional reactions following conflicts -- relationship satisfaction -- topics of conflict; Marriage counseling -- United States -- Periodicals; Family psychotherapy -- Periodicals; Counseling -- Periodicals; Family -- Periodicals; Family Therapy -- Periodicals; Marriage -- Periodicals; Gezinstherapie; Conseil conjugal -- États-Unis -- Périodiques; Thérapie familiale -- Périodiques; 616.89156
• DOI: 10.1111/jmft.12621
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0194-472X

Abstract

Abstract: This study sought to examine the intermediary roles of different topics of conflict and negative emotions following conflicts in the associations between attachment insecurities and relationship satisfaction in a sample of 253 mixed‐gender couples from the community. Results from path analyses based on the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model showed that attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were associated with the perception, in both partners, of experiencing more conflicts in the relationship. In turn, the more participants perceived conflicts related to major issues and daily annoyances, the more they reported negative emotions following conflicts and lower relationship satisfaction. Participants' report of conflicts related to major issues was also related to their partner's lower relationship satisfaction. Findings highlight the significance of accounting for the topics on which couples argue and of using an attachment‐based framework to help couples deal with the negative emotions that they experience following conflicts.