THE NATURE AND CORRELATES OF ATTACHMENT WITHIN COUPLES

The most recent studies in couple psychology give an important role to the process of attachment in conceptualizing the dynamics of love relationships. In this perspective, this research aims at examining relations existing between forms of attachment (conforting, avoiding and anxious/ambivalent) and marital adjustment (Spanier, 1976). Moreover, the convergent validity of two questionnaires is verified. The sample for this study consisted of 124 heterosexual francophone couples, average age of participants was 36.7 years. Multiple regression analysis showed that the anxious/ambivalent attachment of men and women constitues a variable linked to marital dissatisfaction. Also, there exists a moderate correspondence between the two attachment questionnaires. Finally, the dyads for which the form of attachment for the man and the woman is categorized as comforting obtain higher scores of marital adjustment if we compare them to the three other types of dyads in which one or both partners adopt a different form. The three part classification of forms of attachment is discussed in view of recent developments in the area of attachment.