Couple communication, attachment status and relationship satisfaction
Item
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Title
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Couple communication, attachment status and relationship satisfaction
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:8a78607173c8:11007
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identifier
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11315
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Creator
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Dell'Aglio, Rebecca,
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Contributor
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Peter Fraenkel
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Date
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2011
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Behavioral psychology | Attachment | Communication | Couple | Relationship | Satisfaction
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Abstract
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Researchers have been working to understand how relationships begin, what makes them last, what the ingredients are for a satisfying relationship, and what predicts their dissolution. Adult attachment has been found to be associated with the formation, satisfaction, maintenance of, and communication within romantic relationships. The present study explores the associations among adult attachment, communication, and marital and premarital satisfaction. Most studies rely on an individual's self-report of his or her intimate relationship, while few base their conclusions on observations of relationship interaction. This study looks at specific, audiotaped, interactions between couples as well as self-reports of attachment style, communication style, and relationship satisfaction. There were a number of significant findings that indicate a relationship between couple communication, relationship satisfaction, and attachment status. In addition, there were replications of previous findings on couple communication, couple attachment, and relationship satisfaction. The majority of hypotheses were supported: relationship satisfaction was significantly linked to attachment status, positive aspects of communication were linked to women's attachment status, men's use of Support Validation was significantly related to their partners' attachment status, couple communication and relationship satisfaction were significantly related, and relationship satisfaction (specifically problem intensity) was significantly associated with couple communication. The present study evidences a connection between couples' intrapsychic attachment representations (as measured by self-reports) and their interpersonal relationship communication behavior (as observed using the IDCS). It makes a major contribution to the couple attachment literature by linking the intrapsychic sphere of attachment to the interpersonal sphere of communication behavior.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
