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Attachment Style and Adjustment to Divorce

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Sagrario Yárnoz-Yaben
Sagrario Yárnoz-Yaben*
Affiliation:
Universidad del País Vasco (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sagrario Yárnoz-Yaben. Facultad de Psicología. Avda de Tolosa 70. 20018 San Sebastián. (Spain). Phone: +34-943018346. E-mail: sagrario.yarnoz@ehu.es
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Abstract

Divorce is becoming increasingly widespread in Europe. In this study, I present an analysis of the role played by attachment style (secure, dismissing, preoccupied and fearful, plus the dimensions of anxiety and avoidance) in the adaptation to divorce. Participants comprised divorced parents (N = 40) from a medium-sized city in the Basque Country. The results reveal a lower proportion of people with secure attachment in the sample group of divorcees. Attachment style and dependence (emotional and instrumental) are closely related. I have also found associations between measures that showed a poor adjustment to divorce and the preoccupied and fearful attachment styles. Adjustment is related to a dismissing attachment style and to the avoidance dimension. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that secure attachment and the avoidance dimension predict adjustment to divorce and positive affectivity while preoccupied attachment and the anxiety dimension predicted negative affectivity. Implications for research and interventions with divorcees are discussed.

El divorcio es un fenómeno cada vez más frecuente en Europa. En este estudio, se presenta un análisis del papel jugado por el estilo de apego (seguro, desvalorizador, preocupado y temeroso, más las dos dimensiones de ansiedad y evitación) en la adaptación al divorcio. La muestra está compuesta por progenitores divorciados (N = 40) procedentes de una ciudad de tamaño medio del País Vasco. Los resultados revelan una proporción más baja de personas con un apego seguro en la muestra de progenitores divorciados. El estilo de apego y la dependencia (emocional e instrumental) están estrechamente relacionados. Se encontraron también asociaciones entre medidas que muestran un pobre ajuste al divorcio y los estilos de apego preocupado y temeroso. El ajuste se relaciona con un estilo de apego desvalorizador y la dimensión evitación. Los análisis de regresión múltiple confirman que el apego seguro y la dimensión evitación predicen el ajuste al divorcio y la afectividad positiva, mientras que el estilo de apego preocupado y la dimensión ansiedad predicen la afectividad negativa de los progenitores participantes. Para finalizar, discutimos las implicaciones que estos datos tienen para la investigación y la intervención con progenitores divorciados.

Keywords

adjustment to divorceattachment styledependencepositive affectivitynegative affectivitypreoccupation with the ex-spouseajuste al divorcioestilo de apegodependenciaafectividad positivaafectividad negativapreocupación por la ex pareja
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , May 2010 , pp. 210 - 219
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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