The Role of Attachment Anxiety and Attachment Avoidance on the Psychosocial Well-being of Infertile Couples

M. Moura-Ramos, T. Almeida Santos, M. C. Canavarro

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study’s objective was to explore the mediating role of attachment orientation in infertile women and their partners as a mediator of the relationship between need for parenthood and psychosocial well-being. Ninety participants (45 couples) undergoing in vitro fertilization completed self-report questionnaires that assessed representations of the importance of parenthood, attachment orientations, and psychosocial well-being. Path analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect effects. The results indicated that women’s attachment anxiety mediated the effect of need for parenthood on the psychological well-being of themselves and their partner. Although causality cannot be assumed, this study highlights the importance of considering attachment orientations and related strategies of emotion regulation in clinical settings and the need to address the meaning of parenthood for promoting couples’ well-being.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)132-143
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings
Volume24
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2017
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Keywords

  • Attachment anxiety
  • Attachment avoidance
  • Infertility
  • Psychosocial well-being

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Role of Attachment Anxiety and Attachment Avoidance on the Psychosocial Well-being of Infertile Couples'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this