Publication year
2004
Citation Title
Husbands' and wives' marital quality: The role of adult attachment orientations, depressive symptoms, and conflict resolution behaviors.
Journal Name
Attachment and Human Development
Journal Volume
6
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
99-112
DOI
10.1080/14616730310001659575
Summary
A couples' marital quality is associated with various variables. Husbands and wives answered questionnaires separately about their attachment orientations, depressive symptoms, conflict resolution behaviors, and marital satisfaction. Results revealed significant associations between the study variables, and indicated different patterns of associations between husbands and wives.
Key Findings
Husbands with insecure attachment orientations (i.e., less comfort with closeness and depending on others, and more anxiety over experiencing abandonment and rejection) and more depressive symptoms showed less marital satisfaction.
Wives' insecure attachment orientations, but not depressive symptoms, were significantly related to lower marital satisfaction.
Husbands with more depressive symptoms were more likely to use negative forms of conflict resolution, whereas wives with insecure attachment orientations showed more angry and attacking behaviors.
Implications for Military Professionals
Work closely with married Service members and military spouses who show symptoms of depression, and discuss how depression may decrease their marital satisfaction
Educate military couples on how to build secure attachment with their spouse and how to resolve conflicts in positive ways
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide military couples with workshops that aim to promote positive relationships and increase marital satisfaction
Offer fun activities and events for military families to increase family cohesion
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support family programs that address marriage concerns and increase resilience in military families
Recommend education for professionals working with military couples about the importance of secure attachment and positive conflict resolution strategies on marriage
Methods
The sample was recruited through announcements distributed to elementary schools and advertisements in local community newspapers.
Self-administered questionnaires were completed by husbands and wives separately, and the questionnaires measured adult attachment orientations, depressive symptoms, conflict resolution behaviors, and marital satisfaction.
Data were analyzed to examine associations among the study variables.
Participants
Participants were 64 married couples who were the parents of six to eight year old children, married for at least two years, and residing in the same household with one's spouse.
The average ages of the wives and husbands were 36 years and 38 years, respectively.
All the participants were White.
Limitations
Couples who agreed to participate may have differed from those who did not in various levels including marital satisfaction and depressive symptoms.
All participants were White, so the results may be hard to generalize to other races/ethnicities.
No causal relationships between attachment orientation, depressive symptoms, and conflict resolution behaviors could be drawn from the study because of its cross-sectional design.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine the effects of individuals' conflict resolution behaviors on their spouses' marital satisfaction
Recruit participants from diverse race/ethnicity backgrounds so that the sample may better represent the general American population
Explore additional variables potentially related to couples' marital satisfaction
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
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.
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