Romantic attachment, parenthood and marital satisfaction

• The current study examined associations between attachment styles and couple relationships after transition to parenthood. The sample comprised 251 individuals, 128 mothers and 123 fathers, recruited through child health care centers in the south of Sweden. Attachment was measured using the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ, Bartolomew & Horowitz, 1991) and couple relationships with the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS, Spanier, 1976). The results showed that when first and second time mothers reported high scores on fearful, and second time mothers and fathers on dismissing attachment they were less happy in their couple relationships. Attachment styles significantly predicted dissatisfaction in couple relationships for the second but not for the first time parents.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Romantic

attachment

partner relationship

parenthood

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)