The impact of adult attachment on partner and self-attributions and relationship quality

This study tested the relationships between mental the models of attachment, the attributions romantic couples make for their own and their partners’ behaviors, and relationship quality. Participants (n1⁄4 352) who were currently involved in a romantic relationship completed multiple measures of attachment, attributions, and relationship quality. Results revealed that secure people reported less maladaptive attributions than insecure people. In addition, structural model analyses indicated that attachment model of the self (but not the model of others) had both a direct and an indirect effect, mediated by attributions made for negative partner behavior, on relationship satisfaction. Attributions made for selfand partner behaviors overlapped to a great extent, implying an attributional style underlying this unique response pattern. These findings suggest that a positive model of self is a valuable personal resource that enhances adaptive attributions, and hence, leads to high levels of relationship quality. Attachment and attribution theories offer two different perspectives from which to understand the dynamics of close relationships. The attachment perspective (e.g., Collins & Allard, 2001) seeks to understand how ‘‘mental models’’, which are based on early interactions with significant others, exert an influence on the ways adults behave, think, and feel in their intimate relationships. The attribution perspective, on the other hand, seeks to understand how the attributions partners make for relationship events influence satisfaction in their relationships (e.g., Fincham, 2001). The current study sought to integrate these two lines of research by examining the interplay between the mental models of attachment and the attributions individuals make for their own and their romantic partners’ behavior in predicting relationship satisfaction. Bowlby (1973) argued that the quality of repeated interactions with caregivers results in the formation of internal working models or mental models. Responsive and sensitive parenting may lead to the formation of positive mental models of the self as lovable and competent, and others as trustworthy and warm. Repeated inconsistent, rejecting, and intrusive parenting, however, may lead to the formation of negative mental models of the self as unlovable and incompetent, and of others as untrustworthy and cold (Cassidy, 1999). Once these expectations about the self and others are formed and crystallized, mental models are thought to be relatively resistant to change (Collins & Allard, 2001). Bartholomew andHorowitz (1991) developed a prototype model which postulates that four attachment styles may exist in adults. In this formulation, attachment styles are defined in terms of the intersection of This research was based on the first author’s doctoral dissertation submitted to Kansas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a doctoral degree. A portion of this study was presented at the 1999 Convention of the American Psychological Association, Boston. We thank Susan Sprecher and the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of this article. Correspondence should be addressed to Nebi Sümer, Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University, 06531 Ankara, Turkey; e-mail: [email protected]. Personal Relationships, 11 (2004), 355–371. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright # 2004 IARR. 1350-4126/02