Husbands' and Wives' Marital Quality: The Role of Adult Attachment Orientations, Depressive Symptoms, and Conflict Resolution Behaviors

Although previous research has examined the role of adult attachment orientations, depressive symptoms, and conflict resolution behaviors (attacking and compromising) in marital quality, these variables have typically been considered separately. In the present study, these attributes were examined together in a community sample of 64 married couples. Correlational analyses revealed significant associations among the study variables and generally supported the hypothesized relations. When a regression series was applied to the data in order to examine indirect links between husbandsÕ and wivesÕ attachment orientations and their marital satisfaction, results provided some support for mediation, husbandsÕ conflict resolution behaviors partially mediated the association between husbandsÕ depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction. Interestingly, wivesÕ conflict resolution behaviors did not mediate the association between wivesÕ depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction. Instead, a different pattern was found, wivesÕ conflict resolution behaviors partially mediated the association between wivesÕ attachment anxiety and marital satisfaction. Findings highlight the importance of considering husbandsÕ and wivesÕ attributes separately and suggest directions for future research on this topic.