Suchergebnisse

Attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance) are often associated with relationship dissatisfaction, but the mediators have been unclear. We examined the mediating role of perceived conflict in 274 French‐Canadian couples who completed measures of attachment insecurities, perception of conflict, and relationship satisfaction. Partners' own attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted their experience of conflict. In addition, women's anxiety predicted men's experience of conflict, and men's avoidance predicted women's experience of conflict. The associations between attachment insecurities and relationship dissatisfaction were partially mediated by conflict.

AbstractThe goal of this research was to extend the previously documented associations between attachment style and sexual experiences in samples of adolescents and college students to adult couples in committed romantic relationships. A sample of 273 French‐Canadian heterosexual couples aged 18–35 years completed measures of attachment‐related anxiety and avoidance, sexual coercion, and sexual experiences in their relationships. Avoidant attachment was related to two strategies for limiting intimacy in sexual relationships: avoidance of sexual encounters and avoidance of sexual fantasies about one's partner (the latter for women only). Anxious attachment appeared to interfere with comfortable intimacy, especially among men, who viewed their partner as avoiding sex and who applied more insistent pressure to have sex.

Early romantic relationships are salient to the development of healthy future relationships. Yet, little is known about the evolution of romantic relationships of emerging adults since most of the research has been conducted on married or well-established couples. The current study aims to examine how relationship satisfaction and negative communication evolve and are interrelated during emerging adulthood. Using age as a time metric, we conducted group-based dual trajectory modeling analyses on 1566 unmarried Canadian individuals (from 17 to 24 years old) in a relationship, who could either stay with the same partner or change partner over time. A four-group model for relationship satisfaction and a four-group model for negative communication were found. Dual analyses highlighted the high concordance between specific trajectories of both constructs. These findings demonstrate that relationship satisfaction and negative communication do not evolve in the same ways for everyone and provide useful insights to existing clinical interventions.

AbstractIt is well known that parenthood can be particularly stressful. However, less is known about the stability of parenting stress across children's developmental periods. Certain correlates to parenting stress, such as coparenting support between parents, also appear to play a crucial role in childrearing. The current study aims to shed light on the longitudinal associations between parenting stress during the preschool and school years, along with the moderating effect of coparenting support in this association. Eighty‐two heterosexual couples who are parents completed the Parenting Stress Index at Time 1 and Time 2 and the Coparenting Relationship Scale at Time 2. Actor‐Partner path analyses revealed that greater parenting stress in each parent was related to their partner's greater parenting stress at each time point, but only to their own greater parenting stress 5 years later. The association between fathers' parenting stress at both time points was weaker in fathers who reported greater coparenting support from their partner. Helping parents reduce their parenting stress and learn to support each other effectively as coparents may be important parenting intervention avenues.

AbstractObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the lived experience of well‐satisfied couples (as established by the short form of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale) through the transition to parenthood (TTP) to understand what they perceived has facilitated their relationship adaptation.BackgroundMost couples experience a decline in relationship satisfaction through the TTP. However, there is important variability in the couples' experience, and few researchers have examined positive adaptation.MethodSemistructured individual interviews were conducted with both partners of seven first‐time parental couples (N = 14) and then were transcribed and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.ResultThe results showed two interrelated superordinate themes, each including four subordinate themes. Interviewed couples remained satisfied due to the strong foundations of their relationship, namely security, commitment, compassionate love, and intimacy, and due to their effective management of changes together by teaming up, balancing the different spheres of their lives, enjoying and valuing family life together, and communicating.ConclusionOur findings support the relevance of studying positive couple processes for prevention efforts to ease the transition to parenthood.ImplicationsProfessionals working with expectant and new parents could target relational processes related to strong foundations as well as the partners' joint management of change to strengthen couple relationships and promote the positive adaptation to parenthood of partners.

AbstractObjectiveThis study examined whether perceptions of the partner's dyadic coping (DC) and of how partners cope together (common DC) are associated with sexual well‐being in couples seeking assisted reproductive technology.BackgroundAlthough infertility has been associated with significant sexual concerns, little is known about the relational processes underlying couples' sexual well‐being.MethodA sample of 232 couples with medical infertility completed questionnaires assessing DC and sexual well‐being (infertility‐related sexual concerns, distress, and satisfaction).ResultsIndividuals who perceived that their partner engaged in higher negative DC reported lower sexual well‐being (actor effects). Men who perceived that their partner engaged in higher positive DC reported higher sexual satisfaction, whereas women reported greater infertility‐related sexual concerns (actor effects). Perceptions of higher common DC were associated with higher sexual well‐being for men and women (actor effects). Women whose partners reported perceptions of higher common DC also reported fewer infertility‐related sexual concerns (partner effect). Analyses adjusted for relationship satisfaction.ConclusionThese findings highlight the need for future longitudinal research to gain a better understanding of the associations between dyadic factors and infertile couples' sexual well‐being.ImplicationsThese results suggest that the interpersonal context surrounding infertile couples' sexual well‐being should be routinely discussed and could be facilitated by promoting greater common DC.

Abstract
This study examined the mediating role of romantic perfectionism in the associations linking romantic attachment insecurity and self-perceived dyadic coping in a community sample of 170 mixed-sex couples. Path analyses, based on the actor-partner interdependence model, revealed that other-oriented perfectionism in men and women mediated the link between their own attachment-related avoidance and dyadic coping. Other-oriented perfectionism in women mediated the link between their own attachment-related anxiety and dyadic coping. Findings contribute to advancing knowledge about the intrapersonal and interpersonal mechanisms underlying coping processes in couples. Results also inform clinical interventions targeting attachment insecurities and perfectionism in the context of romantic relationships.

Breakups are common among emerging adults and are associated with elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms, especially in the presence of attachment insecurities. Previous authors have suggested that inadequate coping strategies might explain this association, yet this has not been examined longitudinally. This study examined the mediating role of five coping strategies (self-help, approach, accommodation, avoidance, self-punishment) in the longitudinal associations between attachment insecurities (anxiety, avoidance) and depressive and anxious symptoms in 196 emerging adults experiencing a romantic breakup. Measures of pre-breakup attachment, post-breakup coping strategies (one-month post-breakup), and depressive and anxiety symptoms (one- and three-month post-breakup) were administered. Results from a longitudinal autoregressive cross-lagged model showed that pre-breakup attachment insecurities were related to higher depressive and anxiety post-breakup symptoms through higher use of self-punishment and lower use of accommodation coping strategies. Findings highlight coping strategies as potential intervention targets to promote the recovery of emerging adults experiencing breakup distress.