Background and objectives: The stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic spurred alarming levels of stress and anxiety in college students. It is important to identify factors that attenuate the negative effect of stress on anxiety. Framed by the attachment diathesis-stress process perspective, this study examined how the two dimensions of insecurity in…

This study examined parental romantic attachment security as a mediator of prospective associations between hostile interparental conflict and parental discipline (i.e., power-assertive, permissive, and inductive discipline) for mothers and fathers of young children. Furthermore, this study utilized a novel, automatic assessment of romantic…

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has consistently been shown to have deleterious effects on survivors' interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships. Despite the negative outcomes of IPV, distress after IPV varies widely, and not all IPV survivors show a significant degree of distress. The present study examined the impact of IPV on adult…

This study examined whether attachment and self-change predict relationship stability and whether relationship stability differs according to gender. The research data consisted of 403 participants, both online and face-to-face. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictive power of self-change and attachment on…

Romantic relationships are important as they influence physical health, general happiness, and overall well-being. However, they are not immune to disagreements. Conflicts can be a common occurrence in relationships, and poor conflict management can have negative consequences for relationship satisfaction, mental health, and relationship…

This research aims to analyze the predictive role of self-esteem, attachment styles, and family of origin functions in explaining conflict resolution in romantic relationships. A total of 265 adult participants were administered Demographics Form, Conflict Resolution Styles Scale (CRSS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Experiences in Close…

Being securely attached and willing to forgive your partner tends to promote greater relationship success. Though attachment and partner forgiveness are associated cross-sectionally, research has yet to investigate whether and how these positive relationship factors tend to codevelop over time. The current study examined cross-lagged effects and…

Only a few studies have longitudinally explored to whom emerging adults prefer to turn to seek closeness, comfort, and security (called "attachment preferences"), and previous studies on attachment preferences in emerging adults have focused only on the beginning of romantic relationships but not on the end of relationships. Czech…

The potential importance of depending on others during adolescence to establish independence in young adulthood was examined across adolescence to emerging adulthood. Participants included 184 teens (46% male; 42% non-White), their mothers, best friends, and romantic partners, assessed at ages 13-14, 18, 21-22, and 25. Path analyses showed that…

Interpersonal relationships are the recent focus of research identifying protective factors in adolescent psychological health. Using an attachment theory perspective, this study examines the relationship of normative attachment strength and individual differences in attachment expectancies on self-reports of depression and stress in 511…

The present study explored how romantic relationship qualities develop with age and relationship length. Eight waves of data on romantic relationships were collected over 10.5 years during adolescence and early adulthood from a community-based sample in a Western U.S. city (100 males, 100 females; M age Wave 1 = 15.83). Measures of support,…

The definition of a traumatic event in Criterion A for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was narrowed in DSM-5 for events involving indirect exposure to the death of a loved one. Whereas the DSM-IV definition encompassed the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one regardless of the circumstances, the DSM-5 definition now requires that the death…

There is considerable interest in relations between sexual behavior and romantic attachment styles in adolescence as attachment needs are increasingly met through intimate partners rather than parents. The objectives of this research were to organize a measure of sexual behavior within an attachment theory framework, and then show that this new…

The purpose of the study was to explore how negative self-schemas and partner attachments were related to the experience and expression of anger (i.e., trait anger, inward and outward expression of anger) in a sample of male batterers (n = 40) who participated in court-mandated group services. They completed the Experience in Close Relationships…

Online relationship formation through social networking sites helps to meet the developmental need for intimacy in emerging adults. Through the use of the "rich get richer" and the "social compensation" hypotheses, it is evident that personality characteristics such as extraversion and introversion impact online relationship…