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Attachment and Relationship Satisfaction: Mediating Role of Perception of the Partner's Investment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 September 2020

Amanda Londero-Santos*
Affiliation:
Psychometrics Department, Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Jean Carlos Natividade
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Terezinha Féres-Carneiro
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
*
Address for correspondence: Amanda Londero-Santos, Department of Psychology, Rua Marquês de São Vicente, 225, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Email: amandalondero@me.com
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Abstract

This study investigated the role of perception of the partner's investment (PPI) as a mediator of the relation between attachment and relationship satisfaction. The participants in the study were 1088 Brazilians who were involved in a committed monogamous romantic relationship. Relations between study variables were tested using structural equations. The results showed that PPI fully mediated the relation between attachment-related anxiety and avoidance and relationship satisfaction. Attachment factors that were mediated by PPI explained 80.7% of the variance of relationship satisfaction. The results revealed that higher levels of attachment-related avoidance and anxiety were associated with a lower PPI and consequently lower relationship satisfaction. Therapeutic interventions for couples may reduce perceptual bias, mainly when attachment levels of the dyad are known.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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