Document Detail


Adult attachment stance and spouses' marital perceptions during the transition to parenthood.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  12537850     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The relationship between adult attachment and marital perceptions was examined in couples making the transition to parenthood. The Adult Attachment Interview was administered to spouses prenatally, and marital perceptions were assessed prenatally and 3, 12, and 24 months postnatally. The couples were also observed during a marital interaction task. Spouses were assigned to groups based on their attachment security (secure/insecure) and mean level (low/high) of negative emotional escalation in their marital interactions. A series of two-way (attachment security by negative emotional escalation) repeated multivariate analyses of variance, followed by univariate analyses, revealed that insecure husbands and the wives of insecure husbands exhibited different patterns in their marital perceptions than secure husbands and the wives of secure husbands when in high negative escalation marriages. Insecure husbands and the wives of insecure husbands in high negative escalation marriages reported greater declines in positive marital perceptions or less positive marital perceptions overall across the two-year postnatal period than secure husbands and wives of secure husbands in similarly high conflict marriages. Such differences between secure and insecure husbands (and their wives) were not apparent in low negative escalation marriages. Findings are discussed in terms of the protective effect a secure attachment may convey upon spouses during stressful periods in their marriage.
Authors:
Blair J Paley; Martha J Cox; Kristina S Harter; Nancy A Margand
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Attachment & human development     Volume:  4     ISSN:  1461-6734     ISO Abbreviation:  Attach Hum Dev     Publication Date:  2002 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2003-01-22     Completed Date:  2003-04-02     Revised Date:  2007-11-14    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100901315     Medline TA:  Attach Hum Dev     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  340-60     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room 58-239A, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Affect
Analysis of Variance
Conflict (Psychology)
Female
Humans
Life Change Events*
Linear Models
Male
Marriage / psychology*
Multivariate Analysis
Object Attachment*
Parents / psychology*
Pregnancy / psychology*
Southeastern United States
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
R01MH44763/MH/NIMH NIH HHS

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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