scholarly journals On the Causal Relationship Between Attachment Styles and Marital Satisfaction: Mediating Role of Gottman's Marital Communication Model

Author(s):  
Maryam Mardani ◽  
Sayed Ali Marashi ◽  
Zabihollah Abbaspour

Background: Marital satisfaction is one of the main factors affecting the quality of life in marital relationships. It refers to individuals’ positive attitudes toward their marital relationship, and marital dissatisfaction is a negative and displeased attitude toward various aspects of marital relationship. Objectives: The present study aimed to explore the causal relationship between attachment styles and marital satisfaction regarding the mediating role of Gottman’s marital communication model. Methods: The statistical population encompassed all university students in Ahvaz in the academic year 2019 - 2020. The multi-stage random sampling method was used, and 230 persons were selected as the study samples. Hudson's Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS), Coolins and Reed's Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS), and Gottman's Communication Skills Scale (FHS) were also used to collect the data. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 26 and AMOS software version 24. Results: The results indicated that the study model well-fitted the study population, and all direct paths were statistically significant. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between secure attachment, anxiety-insecure attachment, and avoidance-insecure attachment with marital satisfaction mediated by Gottman's communication skills (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Given the effect of Gottman’s couple attachment styles and four communication skills on marital satisfaction, their effectiveness in marital satisfaction is proved. Accordingly, therapists are recommended to implement educational and treatment programs containing cognitive and preventive attachment styles and Gottman’s communication skills to promote couples' marital satisfaction.

Author(s):  
Zabihollah Kaveh Farsani

Aim: This research investigates mediating role of relationship attributions and marital forgiveness on the relationship between neuroticism, attachment styles and marital satisfaction. Methods: The research method was descriptive-correlational and used path analysis. Total of 240 male and females were selected among all married males and females in Shahrekord city using purposive sampling method according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. They responded to Quality of Marital Index (Norton), Relationship Attribution Measurement (Fincham & Bradbury), the Neuroticism Subscale (Costa & McCrae), Behavioual Systems Questionnaire (Furman & Wehner), Experiences in Close Relationship (Wei & et al), and Interpersonal Forgiving in Close Relationships (McCullough, & et al.). Findings: The results showed that evaluated structural model had good fit. The relationship attributions, marital forgiveness, neuroticism, attachment styles directly affected the marital satisfaction (p<0.001); also indirect effect of attachment styles through relationship attributions and marital forgiveness on marital satisfaction (p<0.001). Finally, indirect effect of neuroticism of through only marital forgiveness on marital satisfaction. Conclusion: Family counselors and psychologists should help couples whose lives have faced difficulties because of and/or attachment styles (avoidance) to eliminate distorted cognitions and promote forgiveness among them.


Partner Abuse ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-157
Author(s):  
Deniz Yucel

Using data from 501 married individuals living in Northern Cyprus, an understudied context, this study tests the effect of intimate partner violence (specifically, verbal and physical spousal aggression) on marital satisfaction. In particular, this study explores whether marital communication mediates the effects of verbal and physical spousal aggression on marital satisfaction, and whether these effects differ between men and women. Results suggest that respondents who report only verbal spousal aggression or both verbal and physical spousal aggression have significantly lower marital satisfaction than those who report no verbal or physical spousal aggression. Marital communication partially mediates the effect of only verbal spousal aggression, and of both verbal and physical spousal aggression, on marital satisfaction. Furthermore, the results indicate that the effect of only verbal spousal aggression on marital satisfaction is stronger for husbands, while the effect of both verbal and physical spousal aggression on marital satisfaction is stronger for wives.


2021 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 358-384
Author(s):  
Gianluca Santoro ◽  
Laura Rosa Midolo ◽  
Antonino Costanzo ◽  
Adriano Schimmenti

Insecure attachment is linked to mentalizing difficulties and psychopathology. The current study aimed to examine if failures in mentalization, as observed in the form of uncertainty about mental states, mediated the relationship between attachment styles and global psychopathology in a group of 812 adults (66.5% females) from the community. Participants completed measures on attachment styles, uncertainty about mental states, and clinical symptoms. The authors found that uncertainty about mental states was a partial mediator of the associations between attachment styles and psychopathology. Furthermore, the findings supported the role of secure attachment in protecting from mentalization failures and psychopathology; on the contrary, increased scores on attachment styles involving a negative view of the self (preoccupied and fearful attachment styles) predicted high levels of uncertainty about mental states and psychopathology. Accordingly, clinicians may wish to promote mentalizing abilities in individuals who display a negative view of the self embedded in their attachment styles.


Author(s):  
Vafa Mostafa ◽  
Hajar Falahzadeh ◽  
Sorur Ahmadi ◽  
Omid Hamidi

Aim: The aim of this study was to test the structural equation model of relationships between attachment styles and self-differentiation with academic performance of university students with the mediating role of health-promoting lifestyle. Methods: The method of this research was descriptive and correlation type. The statistical population consisted of all undergraduate students of Shahid Beheshti University (1554 people) in the academic year of 2018-2019. The sample size was estimated to be 308 based on Cochran formula. Eventually 305 questionnaires were finalized. Research tools included the Self-Distinction Questionnaire (Skowron & Schmitt, 2003), the Adults Attachment Inventory (AAI) (Hazen and Shaver, 1987), the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (Walker, Sichrist & Pender, 1995) and the Educational Performance Test (Pham and Taylor, 1999) were used and data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistical methods (Pearson correlation, path analysis and structural equation modeling) using SPSS 23 and AMOS 26 statistical softwares. Findings: The results showed that attachment styles and self-differentiation have a significant relationship with academic performance and these variables are able to directly predict academic performance (p<0.01). Promotional lifestyles can also play a mediating role between attachment styles and self-differentiation with academic performance (p<0.01). Conclusion: Regarding the relationship between attachment styles, self-differentiation and health-promoting lifestyle with academic performance, special attention to these variables is necessary to improve student performance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1495-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Wickham ◽  
K. Sitko ◽  
R. P. Bentall

BackgroundA growing body of research has investigated associations between insecure attachment styles and psychosis. However, despite good theoretical and epidemiological reasons for hypothesising that insecure attachment may be specifically implicated in paranoid delusions, few studies have considered the role it plays in specific symptoms.MethodWe examined the relationship between attachment style, paranoid beliefs and hallucinatory experiences in a sample of 176 people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 113 healthy controls. We also investigated the possible role of negative self-esteem in mediating this association.ResultsInsecure attachment predicted paranoia but not hallucinations after co-morbidity between the symptoms was controlled for. Negative self-esteem partially mediated the association between attachment anxiety and clinical paranoia, and fully mediated the relationship between attachment avoidance and clinical paranoia.ConclusionsIt may be fruitful to explore attachment representations in psychological treatments for paranoid patients. If future research confirms the importance of disrupted attachment as a risk factor for persecutory delusions, consideration might be given to how to protect vulnerable young people, for example those raised in children's homes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document