Measuring Adult Attachment: An Exploratory Study Investigating the Relationships Among Marital Satisfaction, Emotion Skills, and Self- Report and Observational Measures of Attachment

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby Ortega ◽  
James V. Cordova
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Observational Measures ◽  
Emotion Skills

scholarly journals Can Genetic Factors Explain the Spillover of Warmth and Negativity Across Family Relationships?

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jody M. Ganiban ◽  
Erica L. Spotts ◽  
Paul Lichtenstein ◽  
Gagan S. Khera ◽  
David Reiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Maternal Warmth ◽  
Emotional Climate ◽  
Observational Measures ◽  
Maternal Negativity ◽  
Marital Warmth

AbstractPrevious studies indicate that the emotional quality of marital relationships is mirrored in parent–child relationships. We explored the degree to which these associations are explained by genetic and environmental factors. Participants were drawn from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden (TOSS), and included 544 female twin pairs (258 monozygotic [MZ], 286 dizygotic [DZ]), and 311 male twin pairs (128 MZ, 183 DZ). The spouses and one adolescent child of each twin also participated in this study. The twins completed self-report measures that assessed their marital quality and their warmth and negativity towards their children. Observational ratings of marital warmth and negativity, and of maternal warmth and negativity were obtained for a subset of female twin pairs (150 MZ, 176 DZ). Selfreported marital satisfaction was associated with self-reported parental warmth and negativity for mothers (rs = .25, -.36) and fathers (rs = .25, -.44). For the observational measures, marital warmth was associated with maternal warmth (r = .42), while marital negativity was associated with maternal negativity (r = .34). On average genetic factors explained nearly half of the covariance between selfreported marital satisfaction and parenting for mothers (48%) and fathers (47%). Genetic factors explained 21% of the covariance between observed marital and maternal warmth, but did not contribute to associations between marital and maternal negativity. These findings indicate that parents' genetically influenced characteristics help shape the emotional climate of the family.

Personality and marital satisfaction: a behavioural genetic analysis

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica L. Spotts ◽  
Paul Lichtenstein ◽  
Nancy Pedersen ◽  
Jenae M. Neiderhiser ◽  
Kjell Hansson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Marital Quality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Personality Characteristics ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Environmental Variance ◽  
Observational Measures ◽  
Gene Environment

Previous research has found that genetic and nonshared environmental factors influence marital quality (Spotts et al., 2004). The current study explored personality as a source for these genetic and environmental individual differences. A sample of 752 Swedish twin women and their spouses were used. Genetic and environmental influences were found for self‐report measures of marital quality, but only environmental factors contributed to the variance of observational measures of marital quality. Wives' personality characteristics accounted for genetic and nonshared environmental variance in the wives' own marital satisfaction, their husbands' marital satisfaction, and the agreement between the spouses on the quality of their marriage. Genetic influences on the correlation between wives' genetically influenced personality characteristics and their husbands' marital satisfaction indicate a gene–environment correlation. Contrary to expectations, husbands' personality did not explain large portions of wives' marital satisfaction beyond that explained by wives' personality. This study emphasizes the importance of spousal personality to the well‐being of marriages, and results are discussed within the context of three different theories regarding associations between personality and marital quality. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

More bridges: Investigating the relevance of self-report and interview measures of adult attachment for marital and caregiving relationships

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie Bernier ◽  
Célia Matte-Gagné
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Attachment Security ◽  
Maternal Sensitivity ◽  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Child Attachment ◽  
Attachment Research ◽  
State Of Mind

The aim of this report was to investigate the associations between attachment state of mind, romantic attachment style, and indices of maternal functioning in two relational spheres: the mother—child relationship (i.e., maternal sensitivity and child attachment security) and the marital relationship (i.e., mothers’ and their partners’ marital satisfaction). The results, based on 59 families, indicated that attachment state of mind was associated with maternal sensitivity and with child attachment security, although not to mothers’ or their partners’ subjective feelings of marital satisfaction. In contrast, romantic attachment styles were related to both mothers’ and their partners’ marital satisfaction, although not to maternal sensitivity or child attachment. These findings add to the growing literature highlighting the unique value of each tradition of assessment in adult attachment research, by suggesting that variation in attachment security tapped by each measure may bear particular relevance for specific relationships.

The Relationship Between Texture Responses on the Rorschach and Adult Attachment

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazunori Iwasa ◽  
Toshiki Ogawa
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Adult Attachment ◽  
Japanese Population ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Comprehensive System ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
Sensitive Measure ◽  
The Relationship

We examined the relationship between texture responses (T) on the Rorschach and adult attachment in the Japanese population. 47 Japanese undergraduate and graduate students (mean age = 20.16, SD = 1.87) completed a self-report adult attachment scale as well as the Rorschach. An ANOVA revealed that T = 1 participants were attached more securely than were other groups. T > 1 participants were more preoccupied with attachment and scored higher on an attachment anxiety scale than the T = 1 group. Although these results were consistent with the interpretation of the texture response according to the Comprehensive System (CS), the results obtained for T = 0 participants were inconsistent with hypotheses derived from the CS. T = 0 participants were high on preoccupied and attachment anxiety scores, although they were theoretically expected to be high on dismissing or attachment avoidance. These results indicated that – at least in Japan – T should be regarded as a sensitive measure of attachment anxiety.

An experimental approach to communal coping

2021 ◽  
pp. 026540752199246
Author(s):  
Melissa Zajdel ◽  
Vicki S. Helgeson
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Communal Coping ◽  
Observational Measures ◽  
Relationship Outcomes ◽  
The Individual

Communal coping has been linked to better psychological and physical health across a variety of stressful contexts. However, there has been no experimental work causally linking communal coping to relationship and health outcomes. In addition, research has emphasized the collaboration over the shared appraisal component of communal coping. The present study sought to isolate the role of appraisal by manipulating whether dyads viewed a stressor as shared or individual. Friend dyads (n = 64 dyads; 128 participants) were randomly assigned to view a stressor as either a shared or an individual problem, but both groups were allowed to work together. Across self-report and observational measures dyads reported more collaboration and support, better relationship outcomes, and more positive mood after the stressor in the shared than the individual appraisal group. This is the first laboratory evidence to establish causal links of communal coping—specifically shared appraisal—to positive relationship and health outcomes.

Marital Satisfaction of Portuguese Families in Times of Social Lockdown

2021 ◽  
pp. 106648072110098
Author(s):  
Carla Sílvia Fernandes ◽  
Bruno Magalhães ◽  
Sílvia Silva ◽  
Beatriz Edra
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Marital Relations ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Convenience Sampling ◽  
Global Threat ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a global threat and crisis situation, and its wide-reaching impact has also affected marital satisfaction. Dysfunction of the marital system puts the survival of the family unit at risk. This research aimed to determine the level of marital satisfaction of Portuguese families during the social lockdown and the association between the variables under study. A descriptive, exploratory study was conducted. During the social lockdown, 276 people of Portuguese nationality and residing in Portugal were recruited using nonprobabilistic convenience sampling. Marital satisfaction in the pandemic phase showed low values that may be associated with the social, economic, and political context experienced by the pandemic situation. Future research must be carried out in order to identify, prevent, and intervene in situations of violence. In addition, future research should explore not only marital satisfaction during the current pandemic but a more systemic assessment of marital relations during crises, expanding the impact of marital satisfaction in family functioning.

The Impact of Personality Disorders on Longitudinal Change in Relationship Satisfaction in Long-Term Married Couples

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. South ◽  
Michael J. Boudreaux ◽  
Thomas F. Oltmanns
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Longitudinal Change ◽  
The Impact

Personality disorders (PDs) are significantly, negatively related to marital satisfaction. We examine how maladaptive personality is related to change in marital satisfaction over time utilizing data from the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN), a longitudinal, community-based study of personality and health in older adults. Participants were assessed at baseline for PD (self-report, informant-report, and structured interview); self- and spouse-reported relationship satisfaction assessed at baseline and five follow-ups was analyzed with latent growth curve modeling. Higher levels of PD at baseline were associated with lower self and spouse relationship satisfaction at baseline. On average, satisfaction did not change significantly over the study period, but there was significant individual variability. Higher levels of schizoid PD were protective of declines in partner's perception of satisfaction. Findings suggest that partners in long-term married unions may have adapted to the presence of their own or their spouse's level of personality pathology.

Sensitivity to financial rewards and impression management links to smartphone use and dependence

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-128
Author(s):  
Graham Pluck ◽  
◽  
Pablo Emilio Barrera Falconi ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Reward Sensitivity ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Smartphone Addiction ◽  
Observational Measures ◽  
Instant Messenger ◽  
Smartphone Use

Computational modeling and brain imaging studies suggest that sensitivity to rewards and behaviorist learning principles partly explain smartphone engagement patterns and potentially smartphone dependence. Responses to a questionnaire, and observational measures of smartphone use were recorded for 121 university students. Each participant was also tested with a laboratory task of reward sensitivity and a test of verbal operant conditioning. Twenty-three percent of the sample had probable smartphone addiction. Using multivariate regression, smartphone use, particularly the number of instant messenger services employed, was shown to be significantly and independently predicted by reward sensitivity (a positive relationship), and by instrumental conditioning (a negative relationship). However, the latter association was driven by a subset of participants who developed declarative knowledge of the response-reinforcer contingency. This suggests a process of impression management driven by experimental demand characteristics, producing goal-directed instrumental behavior not habit-based learning. No other measures of smartphone use, including the self-report scale, were significantly associated with the experimental tasks. We conclude that stronger engagement with smartphones, in particular instant messenger services, may be linked to people being more sensitive to rewarding stimuli, suggestive of a motivational or learning mechanism. We propose that this mechanism could underly problem smartphone use and dependence. It also potentially explains why some aspects of smartphone use, such as habitual actions, appear to be poorly measured by technology-use questionnaires. A serendipitous secondary finding confirmed that smartphone use reflected active self-presentation. Our ‘conditioning’ task-induced this behavior in the laboratory and could be used in social-cognition experimental studies.

scholarly journals Brain Injury and Mental Health Among the Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: A Case-Series Exploratory Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnur Karakurt ◽  
Kathleen Whiting ◽  
Stephen E. Jones ◽  
Mark J. Lowe ◽  
Stephen M. Rao
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Case Series Study ◽  
History Of

Intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors frequently report face, head, and neck as their injury site. Many mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are undiagnosed or underreported among IPV survivors while these injuries may be linked to changes in brain function or pathology. TBI sustained due to IPV often occurs over time and ranges in severity. The aim of this case-series study was to explore risk factors, symptoms, and brain changes unique to survivors of intimate partner violence with suspicion of TBI. This case-series exploratory study examines the potential relationships among IPV, mental health issues, and TBI. Participants of this study included six women: 3 women with a history of IPV without any experience of concussive blunt force to the head, and 3 women with a history of IPV with concussive head trauma. Participants completed 7T MRI of the brain, self-report psychological questionnaires regarding their mental health, relationships, and IPV, and the Structured Clinical Interview. MRI scans were analyzed for cerebral hemorrhage, white matter disturbance, and cortical thinning. Results indicated significant differences in resting-state connectivity among survivors of partner violence as well as differences in relationship dynamics and mental health symptoms. White matter hyperintensities are also observed among the survivors. Developing guidelines and recommendations for TBI-risk screening, referrals, and appropriate service provision is crucial for the effective treatment of TBI-associated IPV. Early and accurate characterization of TBI in survivors of IPV may relieve certain neuropsychological consequences.

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