Attachment anxiety in daily experiences of romantic relationships

An expansion of the mutual cyclical growth model

Bibliographic Data

ID2927293
AuthorsLane A Beck (0000-0003-4351-2594, Emerson College, corresponding author), Edward P Lemay (0000-0001-8089-3256, University of Maryland, USA), Celeste S Witting (University of Maryland, USA), Celeste Witting (0000-0003-2077-0291, University of Maryland, College Park)
Year2024
Volume41
Issue8
Pages2095-2120
Publication date2024-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/02654075241235335
OpenAlexW4392132132
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited44

This research provides a conceptual replication and theoretical extension of the mutual cyclical growth model. This model proposes that dependence promotes relationship commitment, which promotes pro-relationship behavior, which-when detected by partners-promotes partners' trust, which promotes partners' willingness to depend on the relationship. Prior research supports these links on a month-to-month basis, but romantic partners' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors may change on a day-to-day basis. The present research sought to replicate the model on a daily level, and to extend the model with an important potential moderator: individuals' attachment orientations. Results from a dyadic daily-report study of romantic couples replicated the links in the mutual cyclical growth model at the level of day-to-day fluctuations in partners' experiences; the links were especially strong for individuals high in attachment anxiety. This research provides insight into mechanisms through which close relationships develop and strengthen

Anxiety · Developmental psychology · Economics · Growth model · Keynesian economics · Psychiatry · Psychoanalysis · Romance · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Psychology · Social Psychology