Attachment Styles as Preditors of Satisfaction in Close/Romantic Relationship among Young Adults

Abstract

The current study was carried out to identify that how the attachment style (i.e. secure, anxious, and avoidant) experiences, are related to and associate with satisfaction in romantic relationships among young adults. A convenient sample of 253 young adults (121 men, 132 women) between 18 to 30 years (M= 26.46, SD= 3.69) was recruited for the study. The participants completed an 18 item Revised Adult Attachment Scale (Close Relationships Version) and 07 item Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) to measure attachment styles and relationship satisfaction respectively. The tools were translated using forward-backward translation protocol to ensure the cultural and linguistic relevance. The data was analysed using correlation and Multiple Regression using SPSS version 26. The findings suggested that secure attachment style correlated positively whereas anxious and avoidant attachment styles correlated negatively with relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, results reveal that secure attachment style (0.39, p>0.001) is a positive predictor; while avoidant (-0.34, p>0.001) and anxious (-0.27, p>0.001) attachment styles were concluded to be negatively predicting close/romantic relationship satisfaction. The model in general was found significant that explained 48 percent of the variance in relationship satisfaction. The study contributed to relevant research on the topic since it underscores the significance and role of childhood attachment styles in the romantic relationships of an adult person in south Asian collectivistic culture.

Keywords: Attachment Styles, Satisfaction, Romantic Relationships, Young Adults.