Adult attachment and marital satisfaction: Evidence for dyadic configuration effects

The relations between continuous ratings of four partnership-specific adult attachment prototype descriptions (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) and relationship satisfaction were investi-gated in 333 married couples. Using multiple regression analysis, marital satisfaction could be predicted by the indi-vidual’s own attachment, the partner’s attachment, and the interaction between them. In general, secure attachment was related to higher, and insecure attachment to lower marital satisfaction. In specific dyadic configurations, however, the positive effects of secure and the negative effects of insecure attachment styles were either amplified or attenuated depending on the attachment of the spouse. KEY WORDS: adult attachment • dyadix effects • marital satisfaction • married couple