Adult Attachment Styles: Relations with Emotional Well-Being, Marriage, and Parenting

The current study examined the pairings of adult attachment styles among married couples raising young children. Spouses in dual-secure marriages reported more love for their partner; less ambivalence about their relationships, were more integrated into their social networks, and felt more competent as parents than couples in dual-insecure marriages. Differences in relationship dynamics were found in secure husband-avoidant wife and secure wife-avoidant husband marriages. There was no relation between adult attachment styles, parenting behavior and the security of infant-parent attachments. Future work would benefit by focusing on the dyadic constellations of adult attachment styles and their implications for family relationships.