Adult attachment and emotion regulation flexibility in romantic relationships
Publication year
2024Number of pages
26 p.
Source
Behavioral Sciences, 14, 9, (2024), article 758ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor
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Organization
SW OZ BSI SCP
PI Group Affective Neuroscience
SW OZ BSI OGG
Journal title
Behavioral Sciences
Volume
vol. 14
Issue
iss. 9
Languages used
English (eng)
Subject
230 Affective Neuroscience; Behaviour Change and Well-being; Developmental PsychopathologyAbstract
Adults with attachment insecurity often struggle in romantic relationships due to difficulties in emotion regulation (ER). One potentially influential yet understudied factor is the inflexible over-reliance on either intrapersonal (self-directed, e.g., suppression) or interpersonal (involving others, e.g., sharing) ER. This study investigates the association between attachment insecurity and flexibility in using interpersonal versus intrapersonal ER in response to daily stressors in romantic relationships. We hypothesized that higher attachment avoidance and anxiety are associated with (H1) higher reliance on either intrapersonal or interpersonal ER over the other, respectively; (H2) less variable use of interpersonal compared to intrapersonal ER over time; and (H3) less flexible use of interpersonal compared to intrapersonal ER depending on the availability of a romantic partner. Study 1 (N = 174; 133 females, Mage = 23.79, SDage = 7.63) used an online cross-sectional survey to measure average inter/intrapersonal ER, addressing H1. Study 2 (N = 124; 104 females, Mage = 22.45, SDage = 6.39), combined a baseline survey with experience sampling (7 days, 8 notifications/day), addressing H1, H2, and H3. Results showed that higher attachment avoidance was associated with lower interpersonal compared to intrapersonal ER. Higher attachment anxiety was associated with less variable use of interpersonal compared to intrapersonal ER and less flexible use of interpersonal ER depending on partner availability. These findings suggest distinct associations between attachment orientations and ER flexibility, explaining ER difficulties in individuals with high attachment insecurity.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [245131]
- Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging [4021]
- Electronic publications [132467]
- Faculty of Social Sciences [30338]
- Open Access publications [106059]
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