Observed Attachment and Self-reported Affect

Abstract

This study explored the impact of males' and females' adult attachment styles on their affective flexibility and negativity during couple conversations. Couples were observed in order to analyze the degree of secure and insecure attachment behaviors displayed within individuals. This study sought to answer the question of question of whether male and female partners' attachment behaviors influence the couple's interactions. In order to do this, male and female partners' Adult Attachment Behavior Q-Set (AABQ) scores were used as predictors of couple affect patterns during couple conversations. This study found that females' attachment scores were predictive of affective flexibility and negativity across all three attachment styles (secure, preoccupied, and dismissing.) Males' attachment orientations were not found to be significant for any attachment styles in this sample. In females, security was predictive of higher flexibility and lower negativity. Likewise, preoccupation in females predicted lower flexibility. Female dismissiveness was predictive of higher negativity and lower flexibility.