An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model of Attachment and Need Fulfillment in Romantic Dyads

The present research tested the unique associations between attachment and basic psychological need fulfillment in relationships. Past research shows that anxious and avoidant attachment are associated with distinct patterns of relationship behaviors, wherein anxious attachment is related to excessi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social psychological & personality science 2016-05, Vol.7 (4), p.349-357
Main Authors: Hadden, Benjamin W., Rodriguez, Lindsey M., Knee, C. Raymond, DiBello, Angelo M., Baker, Zachary G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety disorders
Autonomy
Avoidance behavior
Competence
Interdependence
Psychological needs
Relatedness
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The present research tested the unique associations between attachment and basic psychological need fulfillment in relationships. Past research shows that anxious and avoidant attachment are associated with distinct patterns of relationship behaviors, wherein anxious attachment is related to excessive attention to the relationship and avoidant attachment is related to detachment from the relationship. Specifically, we explored the role of romantic partner’s attachment in predicting each other’s experiences of relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Across two samples of undergraduate romantic couples (n sample 1 = 156, n sample 2 = 264), one’s own anxious and avoidant attachment predicted generally lower basic psychological need fulfillment. Having a more anxiously attached partner predicted higher relatedness but lower autonomy, whereas having a more avoidantly attached partner predicted lower relatedness but higher autonomy need fulfillment. These results extend prior research, suggesting that one’s partner’s anxious and avoidant attachment has distinct implications for one’s own outcomes.
ISSN:1948-5506
1948-5514
DOI:10.1177/1948550615623844