Can someone help to summarize and paraphrase Direct and indirect effect of attac
ID: 3486478 • Letter: C
Question
Can someone help to summarize and paraphrase
Direct and indirect effect of attachment orientation on relationship quality
This study tested the prediction that spouses’ insecure attachment orientation would be negatively associated with relationship quality. It was further predicted that there would be indirect effects of attachment orientation on spouses’ relationship quality through interpersonal trust as well as indirect effects of attachment orientation on loneliness through spouses’ relationship quality. Predictions were tested on 225 married couples that completed measures of attachment orientation, personal commitment, dedication commitment, interpersonal trust, loneliness, and marital satisfaction. Married couples were solicited to participate in the study through classroom recruitment or by referral from students attending one of three universities located in the Midwest, Southwest, and Western regions of the United States. Students were offered extra credit toward their course grade if they were married and wanted to participate with their spouse or if they recruited a married couple from their social network to participate in the study.
Collectively, these results suggest that attachment orientation represents an interpersonal disposition that impacts interdependence processes and relationship outcomes at the level of both the individual and the dyad. The chronically accessible working models of self and other that result from early interactions with primary caregivers exert influence on beliefs and expectations about relationships and relationship partners. These beliefs and expectations become manifest in the day-to-day interactions of spouses, facilitating or constraining a couple’s ability to adapt, adjust, and accommodate to one another, thus prioritizing the relationship over individual interests. Putting the relationship first requires that partners trust one another. The development of interpersonal trust follows a reciprocal process, which is fostered by working models of others as trustworthy. It is trust that intervenes between attachment orientation and relationship quality, as trust is essential to the creation and maintenance of a satisfying and committed relationship. High satisfaction and commitment to a relationship safeguards against feelings of loneliness, as it is relationship quality that intervenes between attachment orientation and loneliness. Relationship quality is jointly constructed by partners and emerges as a result of dyadic growth in satisfaction, trust, and commitment, reflecting prorelationship motives on the part of both partners. Because marital processes are coconstructed, and partners exert mutual influence on one another, relationship quality is a shared experience for both the partners, and a high degree of relationship quality serves to minimize feelings of loneliness.
However, there are several limitations to this investigation that must be considered when interpreting the results. First, the married couples that participated in this investigation do not constitute a random sample. Participants were recruited by a university student or were university students themselves. It would be reasonable to assume that a sample of people in the social network of a university student might be somewhat skewed toward a middle or upper socioeconomic status. Comparison with the most recently available U.S. census data suggests that the participants in this study were more highly educated than the general population and that Whites were overrepresented. An additional limitation of a nonrandom sample is the potential for a selection bias. The most dissatisfied or distressed couples in the population are no doubt underrepresented in this sample by virtue of either not being asked to participate by the recruiter or by declining participation when asked. On a related note, the self-report nature of this investigation may itself be considered a limitation in that participants may have been motivated by social desirability, and thus the need to give socially appropriate answers.
Explanation / Answer
This study aimed to assess the prediction that insecure attachment pattern of spouses negatively effects the relationship quality.Also, the study aimed at assessing indirect effects of attachment orientation on spouses relationship quality through interpersonal trust as well as indirect effects of attachment orientation on loneliness through spouses’ relationship quality. The sample consisted of 225 married couples, who were administered various scales on attachment orientation, personal commitment, dedication commitment, interpersonal trust, loneliness, and marital satisfaction. The results suggests that attachment orientation was related with relationship outcomes. Insecure attachment had an association with of lower relationship quality and lower interpersonal trust. In turn, Lower relationship quality was associated with loneliness.