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...model using AMOS software and maximum likelihood estimation. Model fit was assessed with a joint consideration of the 2 statistic, the 2/df ratio, the standardized root mean residual (SRMR), the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA). Kane et al.: Feeling supported and feeling satisfied 545 at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from Desirable model fit is evidenced by a non-significant 2, a 2/df ratio of 3 or less, an SRMR of .05 or less, a CFI of .95 or greater, and an RMSEA between .05 and .08 (Kline, 2005). Confirmatory factor analysis. To obtain the most valid and reliable assessment of our proposed mediator – caregiving quality – we created latent variables that included our three measures of support and care, (i) perceptions of available support during times of stress (perceived social support), (ii) perceptions of the partner’s overall sensitivity and responsiveness to one’s needs (responsiveness to need), and (iii) perceptions of partner’s unhelpful responses to supportseeking efforts (negative support), which was reverse scored for this analysis. In addition, to account for interdependenc...

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...csb.edu or ncollins@psych.ucsb.edu]. at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from perceived caregiving; individuals who were involved with insecure partners were less satisfied in part because they perceived their partners to be less effective caregivers. KEY WORDS: attachment • caregiving • couples • dyadic analysis • felt security • relationship satisfaction • social support • trust Establishing a supportive and caring relationship with a romantic partner is a primary goal for most individuals and an important predictor of health and well-being (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Uchino, Cacioppo, & KeicoltGlaser, 1996). However, cultivating mutually supportive relationships is not always easy. Partners often differ in their willingness and ability to respond to one another’s needs and to provide the type of support that promotes one another’s welfare and relationship satisfaction. Some individuals enter their relationships with personality characteristics that facilitate effective care and support, whereas others have characteristics that interfere with effective caregiving (Collins, Guichard, Ford, & Feeney, 2006). In the current article, we examine individual diff...

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...hment style as one important personality factor that may shape social support and caregiving processes in couples and may explain differences in relationship quality. In doing so, our primary focus is on the interpersonal link between one individual’s attachment style and the relationship experiences of his or her partner. It is often taken for granted that one partner’s personality can affect the other partner’s relationship experiences. Indeed, a number of central theories in the close relationships literature, including interdependence theory (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978) and attachment theory (Bowlby, 1973), highlight the importance of dyadic processes in which one partner’s outcomes are inextricably linked to the other partner’s needs, goals, and behavioral tendencies. Despite this theoretical emphasis on interpersonal processes, most empirical work on personality and relationships has taken an intrapersonal perspective in which one partner’s personality is linked to his or her own relationship outcomes. In the current study, we address this gap by examining how individual differences in adult attachment style shape relationship outcomes not only for the individual, but for his or her romantic ...

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.... However, when they examined specific features of relationship functioning, they found that this negative association was more pronounced when the male partner was high in avoidance. Specifically, when male partners were high in avoidance (measured in adolescence), their female partners (approximately 5 years later) rated their relationship as low in intimacy, low in effective problem solving, and high in conflict. Avoidant men were also rated as less affectionate, more critical, more withdrawing during conflict communication, and more verbally and physically aggressive. Along similar lines, Collins and Read (1990) and Simpson (1990) found that women (but not men) with avoidant partners were less satisfied with their relationships than those with less avoidant partners. In contrast, Banse (2004) found that men (but not women) with avoidant partners were less satisfied than those with less avoidant partners. In summary, prior studies have shown that the attachment style of one partner predicts the relationship experiences of both members of a couple, and that secure attachment is associated with more positive relationship outcomes for individuals (intrapersonal effects) and their partners (interpersonal ...

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...gical and psychosocial history of the individual (Collins, Cooper, Albino, & Allard, 2002). Once developed, such processing units guide and constrain cognition, emotion, and behavior in response to specific situational cues and contexts. Working models of attachment can thus be viewed as one type of cognitive-affective-processing unit within the CAPS model of personality (Zayas, Shoda, & Auduk, 2002). Adult attachment researchers typically conceptualize individual differences in attachment style along two continuous dimensions: Attachmentrelated anxiety and attachment-related avoidance (e.g., Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998). The anxiety dimension reflects the degree to which an individual is worried about being rejected, abandoned, or unloved. The avoidance dimension reflects the degree to which an individual avoids (vs. approaches) intimacy and interdependence with others. Individuals with a secure attachment style are low in both avoidance and anxiety; they are comfortable with intimacy and confident they are loved and valued by others. In contrast, various forms of insecure attachment styles (preoccupied, dismissing, or fearful) are characterized by high levels of anxiety, avoidance, or both. Studies of adul...

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...hip,’ ‘Our relationship makes me very happy.’ Participants in Sample 2 completed a similar 5-item scale (male = .92, female = .93) based on an earlier version of the IMS scale (Van Lange et al., 1997). Results Overview of data analysis The primary goal of this study was to test the hypotheses that (i) one partner’s attachment style would predict the other partner’s relationship satisfaction, and (ii) that this effect would be mediated by perceptions of the partner’s caregiving quality (see Figure 1). We tested these hypotheses using the Actor-PartnerInterdependence Model (APIM; Kenny, 1996; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006), which enabled us to estimate effects for both members of the couple simultaneously, while controlling for the interdependence between them. The APIM model also enabled us to test the interpersonal effects of one partner’s attachment style on the other partner’s experiences (a partner effect), controlling for the individual’s own attachment style (an actor effect). This feature is important because partner effects could be confounded with actor effects if partners’ attachment styles are correlated, as suggested by prior research (e.g., Collins et al., 2002; Collins & Read, 1990; Kirkpatrick ...

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...79; Sample 2: male = .74, female = .81). Participants were asked to think about how their partners behave when they provide help/support, and to rate how often their partners make them feel (i) helpless or inadequate, (ii) stupid, (iii) indebted or obligated to help in return, (iv) guilty, (v) unworthy of help, (vi) and like a burden. For both samples, participants responded on a 5-point scale from ‘Never’ to ‘Always’. Relationship satisfaction. Participants in Sample 1 completed the 6-item relationship satisfaction subscale (male = .85, female = .90) from the Investment Model Scale (IMS; Rusbult, Martz, & Agnew, 1998). Sample items include: ‘I feel satisfied with our relationship,’ ‘Our relationship makes me very happy.’ Participants in Sample 2 completed a similar 5-item scale (male = .92, female = .93) based on an earlier version of the IMS scale (Van Lange et al., 1997). Results Overview of data analysis The primary goal of this study was to test the hypotheses that (i) one partner’s attachment style would predict the other partner’s relationship satisfaction, and (ii) that this effect would be mediated by perceptions of the partner’s caregiving quality (see Figure 1). We tested these hypotheses usin...

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...that individuals with insecure partners tend to report more negative relationship experiences than those with secure partners. Specifically, Kane et al.: Feeling supported and feeling satisfied 537 at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from individuals with anxious partners tend to report more negative relationship experiences than those with less anxious partners (Banse, 2004), although several studies have found that this association is most pronounced for men with anxious female partners (e.g., Collins & Read, 1990; Kirkpatrick & Davis, 1994; Simpson, 1990). Individuals with avoidant partners also tend to report more negative relationship experiences than those with less avoidant partners. There is some evidence that this effect is also moderated by gender. For example, in a longitudinal study in which attachment style was measured in late adolescence, Collins et al. (2002) found that both men and women were less satisfied with their relationship if their partners were high in avoidance. However, when they examined specific features of relationship functioning, they found that this negative association was more pronounced when the male partner w...

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...ng from 1 week to 4 years (see Feeney, 1999, for a review). Over the past 2 decades, attachment theory has become a widely used model for understanding adult romantic relationships, and a large body of research indicates that individual differences in attachment style are associated with systematic differences in relationship experiences and outcomes. Overall, secure individuals (low avoidance, low anxiety) report more favorable relationship experiences than their insecure counterparts, including greater relationship satisfaction, intimacy, commitment, and trust (for reviews see Feeney, 1999; Hazan & Shaver, 1994). Most of these studies, however, have focused on the intrapersonal effects of attachment style. That is, they have investigated the links between an individual’s attachment style and his or her own relationship experiences. A small number of studies have examined the interpersonal effects of one partner’s attachment style on the other partner’s relationship experiences. In general, these studies indicate that individuals with insecure partners tend to report more negative relationship experiences than those with secure partners. Specifically, Kane et al.: Feeling supported and feeling satisfi...

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...ing skills, resources, and motivation). Consistent with these ideas, a number of studies provide evidence that secure individuals are more effective caregivers than insecure individuals. For example, in self-report studies, secure individuals report more responsive, less controlling, and less compulsive forms of caregiving than insecure individuals (Feeney, 1996; Feeney & Collins, 2001; Kunce & Shaver, 1994). In observational studies, secure individuals are rated by independent coders as providing more effective support to their partners than insecure individuals (e.g. Collins & Feeney, 2000; Simpson, Rholes, & Nelligan, 1992). Finally, in an experimental study in which the partner’s level of need for support was experimentally manipulated, avoidant individuals were found to be less responsive to their partner’s need (Feeney & Collins, 2001). In sum, existing evidence suggests that secure individuals provide more effective social support to close others, and that effective social support is associated with relationship satisfaction. We reasoned, therefore, that caregiving quality may be one important mechanism through which one partner’s attachment style shapes the other partner’s relationship experiences. Specifi...

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...e and anxiety (M = –.38) or high in avoidance and low in anxiety (M = –.28) reported the lowest levels of satisfaction. Women low in avoidance and high in anxiety (M = .06) reported moderate levels of satisfaction. Thus, relative to secure women, insecure women reported lower satisfaction. With respect to partner effects (Steps 3 and 4), there was a significant main effect of male avoidance; women reported lower satisfaction when their male partners were higher in avoidance. Gender differences. To provide a formal test of gender differences in actor and partner effects, we used AMOS software (Arbuckle, 1997) to test the significance of the difference between dependent regression coefficients. To accomplish this goal, we tested a series of nested regression models in which we set the corresponding regression coefficients for men and women to be equal (one pair at a time) and then computed the 2 statistic comparing the model in which the coefficients were free to vary to the nested model in which they were forced to be equal. If the coefficients differed for men and women, then the fit of the model would be significantly worse when the paths were forced to be equal than when they were free to var...

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...earn whether they can count on their partner to understand their needs, accept responsibility for their well-being and make themselves emotionally (and physically) available when needed. Furthermore, it is precisely because people typically need social support when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable (e.g., when they are ill or emotionally vulnerable) that support interactions offer such a critical testing ground for judging their partner’s love. A partner’s acceptance and nurturance under these circumstances provides diagnostic evidence of their deep investment in one’s well-being (Tooby & Cosmides, 1996). These ideas are consistent with a number of other theories that identify interpersonal responsiveness as a key factor in the development of trust, intimacy, and felt-security in close relationships (Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006; Murray, Holmes, & Collins, 2006; Reis, Clark, & Holmes, 2004). Consistent with these ideas, Pasch and Bradbury (1998) found that social support behavior observed during a laboratory interaction task was positively associated with current marital satisfaction and with increases in marital satisfaction over time. Likewise, Collins and Feeney (2000) found that indivi...

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...n one’s well-being (Tooby & Cosmides, 1996). These ideas are consistent with a number of other theories that identify interpersonal responsiveness as a key factor in the development of trust, intimacy, and felt-security in close relationships (Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006; Murray, Holmes, & Collins, 2006; Reis, Clark, & Holmes, 2004). Consistent with these ideas, Pasch and Bradbury (1998) found that social support behavior observed during a laboratory interaction task was positively associated with current marital satisfaction and with increases in marital satisfaction over time. Likewise, Collins and Feeney (2000) found that individuals who rated their relationship as more satisfying had partners who provided more emotional support, less negative support, and showed greater responsiveness during an interaction task in which one partner disclosed an important personal worry or concern (see also Feeney, 2004). Taken together, these studies provide initial evidence of an important link between relationship satisfaction and the receipt of responsive care from one’s partner. Although social support is positively associated with relationship satisfaction, people differ in their willingness and ability to be ...

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...al, these studies indicate that individuals with insecure partners tend to report more negative relationship experiences than those with secure partners. Specifically, Kane et al.: Feeling supported and feeling satisfied 537 at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from individuals with anxious partners tend to report more negative relationship experiences than those with less anxious partners (Banse, 2004), although several studies have found that this association is most pronounced for men with anxious female partners (e.g., Collins & Read, 1990; Kirkpatrick & Davis, 1994; Simpson, 1990). Individuals with avoidant partners also tend to report more negative relationship experiences than those with less avoidant partners. There is some evidence that this effect is also moderated by gender. For example, in a longitudinal study in which attachment style was measured in late adolescence, Collins et al. (2002) found that both men and women were less satisfied with their relationship if their partners were high in avoidance. However, when they examined specific features of relationship functioning, they found that this negative association was more pronounced when th...

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...chment style shape relationship outcomes not only for the individual, but for his or her romantic partner. In doing so, we argue that social support and caregiving processes play a critical role in explaining the link between attachment style and relationship satisfaction at both the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels. Adult attachment theory and research Adult attachment theory begins with the assumption that adults enter relationships with well-developed mental representations of self and others that regulate cognitive, affective, and behavioral response patterns in close relationships (Collins & Read, 1994). Attachment theorists refer to these cognitive-affective representations as internal working models of attachment, 536 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 24(4) at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from and they are thought to be rooted, at least in part, in the quality of one’s early relationships with caretakers and other important attachment figures (Bowlby, 1973). Once formed, these representations are assumed to operate automatically and unconsciously, thereby making them resistant (but certainly not impervious) to dramatic change...

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...our relationship,’ ‘Our relationship makes me very happy.’ Participants in Sample 2 completed a similar 5-item scale (male = .92, female = .93) based on an earlier version of the IMS scale (Van Lange et al., 1997). Results Overview of data analysis The primary goal of this study was to test the hypotheses that (i) one partner’s attachment style would predict the other partner’s relationship satisfaction, and (ii) that this effect would be mediated by perceptions of the partner’s caregiving quality (see Figure 1). We tested these hypotheses using the Actor-PartnerInterdependence Model (APIM; Kenny, 1996; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006), which enabled us to estimate effects for both members of the couple simultaneously, while controlling for the interdependence between them. The APIM model also enabled us to test the interpersonal effects of one partner’s attachment style on the other partner’s experiences (a partner effect), controlling for the individual’s own attachment style (an actor effect). This feature is important because partner effects could be confounded with actor effects if partners’ attachment styles are correlated, as suggested by prior research (e.g., Collins et al., 2002; Collin...

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...n reflects the degree to which an individual avoids (vs. approaches) intimacy and interdependence with others. Individuals with a secure attachment style are low in both avoidance and anxiety; they are comfortable with intimacy and confident they are loved and valued by others. In contrast, various forms of insecure attachment styles (preoccupied, dismissing, or fearful) are characterized by high levels of anxiety, avoidance, or both. Studies of adult attachment have shown moderate to high levels of stability in self-reported attachment style over intervals ranging from 1 week to 4 years (see Feeney, 1999, for a review). Over the past 2 decades, attachment theory has become a widely used model for understanding adult romantic relationships, and a large body of research indicates that individual differences in attachment style are associated with systematic differences in relationship experiences and outcomes. Overall, secure individuals (low avoidance, low anxiety) report more favorable relationship experiences than their insecure counterparts, including greater relationship satisfaction, intimacy, commitment, and trust (for reviews see Feeney, 1999; Hazan & Shaver, 1994). Most of these studie...

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...t and most vulnerable (e.g., when they are ill or emotionally vulnerable) that support interactions offer such a critical testing ground for judging their partner’s love. A partner’s acceptance and nurturance under these circumstances provides diagnostic evidence of their deep investment in one’s well-being (Tooby & Cosmides, 1996). These ideas are consistent with a number of other theories that identify interpersonal responsiveness as a key factor in the development of trust, intimacy, and felt-security in close relationships (Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006; Murray, Holmes, & Collins, 2006; Reis, Clark, & Holmes, 2004). Consistent with these ideas, Pasch and Bradbury (1998) found that social support behavior observed during a laboratory interaction task was positively associated with current marital satisfaction and with increases in marital satisfaction over time. Likewise, Collins and Feeney (2000) found that individuals who rated their relationship as more satisfying had partners who provided more emotional support, less negative support, and showed greater responsiveness during an interaction task in which one partner disclosed an important personal worry or concern (see also Feeney, 2004). Taken toget...

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... support for their partners in times of stress, and a secure base from which their partners can pursue (explore) personal goals (see Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006 for an extended discussion of attachment style differences in caregiving skills, resources, and motivation). Consistent with these ideas, a number of studies provide evidence that secure individuals are more effective caregivers than insecure individuals. For example, in self-report studies, secure individuals report more responsive, less controlling, and less compulsive forms of caregiving than insecure individuals (Feeney, 1996; Feeney & Collins, 2001; Kunce & Shaver, 1994). In observational studies, secure individuals are rated by independent coders as providing more effective support to their partners than insecure individuals (e.g. Collins & Feeney, 2000; Simpson, Rholes, & Nelligan, 1992). Finally, in an experimental study in which the partner’s level of need for support was experimentally manipulated, avoidant individuals were found to be less responsive to their partner’s need (Feeney & Collins, 2001). In sum, existing evidence suggests that secure individuals provide more effective social support to close others, and that effective ...

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...ort when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable (e.g., when they are ill or emotionally vulnerable) that support interactions offer such a critical testing ground for judging their partner’s love. A partner’s acceptance and nurturance under these circumstances provides diagnostic evidence of their deep investment in one’s well-being (Tooby & Cosmides, 1996). These ideas are consistent with a number of other theories that identify interpersonal responsiveness as a key factor in the development of trust, intimacy, and felt-security in close relationships (Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006; Murray, Holmes, & Collins, 2006; Reis, Clark, & Holmes, 2004). Consistent with these ideas, Pasch and Bradbury (1998) found that social support behavior observed during a laboratory interaction task was positively associated with current marital satisfaction and with increases in marital satisfaction over time. Likewise, Collins and Feeney (2000) found that individuals who rated their relationship as more satisfying had partners who provided more emotional support, less negative support, and showed greater responsiveness during an interaction task in which one partner disclosed an important personal worry or concern (see al...

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...onships (including romantic relationships), and in Sample 2 they were asked to respond in terms of their general orientation toward romantic relationships. An inspection of the correlations between attachment style and other all other variables studied in our two samples indicated that the small difference in instructions did not systematically alter the pattern of relationships. Perceived available support. Participants completed the perceived social support subscale (Sample 1: male = .85, female = .83; Sample 2: male = .82, female = .84) from the Quality of Relationships Inventory (QRI: Pierce, Sarason, & Sarason, 1991) designed to assess the extent to which participants perceive their partners as providing support during times of stress (e.g., ‘To what extent can you turn 542 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 24(4) at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from to your partner for advice about problems?’). Participants in Sample 1 responded to each item on a 7-point scale from ‘Never’ to ‘Very much/always’ and participants in Sample 2 responded to each item on a 5-point scale from ‘Never’ to ‘Very much/very often’. Responsiveness to need. Six items wer...

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...ly vulnerable) that support interactions offer such a critical testing ground for judging their partner’s love. A partner’s acceptance and nurturance under these circumstances provides diagnostic evidence of their deep investment in one’s well-being (Tooby & Cosmides, 1996). These ideas are consistent with a number of other theories that identify interpersonal responsiveness as a key factor in the development of trust, intimacy, and felt-security in close relationships (Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006; Murray, Holmes, & Collins, 2006; Reis, Clark, & Holmes, 2004). Consistent with these ideas, Pasch and Bradbury (1998) found that social support behavior observed during a laboratory interaction task was positively associated with current marital satisfaction and with increases in marital satisfaction over time. Likewise, Collins and Feeney (2000) found that individuals who rated their relationship as more satisfying had partners who provided more emotional support, less negative support, and showed greater responsiveness during an interaction task in which one partner disclosed an important personal worry or concern (see also Feeney, 2004). Taken together, these studies provide initial evidence of an importa...

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...ctor in the development and 538 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 24(4) at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from maintenance of secure relationships in both childhood and adulthood (Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006; Kunce & Shaver, 1994). In adult intimate relationships, responsive care and support helps individuals cope with stress, creates an overall atmosphere of goodwill between partners (Cutrona, 1996), and provides individuals with diagnostic information about their partner’s commitment to them and concern for their well-being (Collins & Feeney, 2004). Through such interactions, individuals learn whether they can count on their partner to understand their needs, accept responsibility for their well-being and make themselves emotionally (and physically) available when needed. Furthermore, it is precisely because people typically need social support when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable (e.g., when they are ill or emotionally vulnerable) that support interactions offer such a critical testing ground for judging their partner’s love. A partner’s acceptance and nurturance under these circumstances provides diagnostic evidence of t...

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...that social support and caregiving processes may provide one important pathway through which secure individuals create more loving and secure relationships for themselves and their partners. Caregiving is an integral component of attachment bonds across the lifespan, and responsive caregiving is hypothesized to be a key factor in the development and 538 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 24(4) at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from maintenance of secure relationships in both childhood and adulthood (Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006; Kunce & Shaver, 1994). In adult intimate relationships, responsive care and support helps individuals cope with stress, creates an overall atmosphere of goodwill between partners (Cutrona, 1996), and provides individuals with diagnostic information about their partner’s commitment to them and concern for their well-being (Collins & Feeney, 2004). Through such interactions, individuals learn whether they can count on their partner to understand their needs, accept responsibility for their well-being and make themselves emotionally (and physically) available when needed. Furthermore, it is precisely because people t...

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...e examine individual differences in adult attachment style as one important personality factor that may shape social support and caregiving processes in couples and may explain differences in relationship quality. In doing so, our primary focus is on the interpersonal link between one individual’s attachment style and the relationship experiences of his or her partner. It is often taken for granted that one partner’s personality can affect the other partner’s relationship experiences. Indeed, a number of central theories in the close relationships literature, including interdependence theory (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978) and attachment theory (Bowlby, 1973), highlight the importance of dyadic processes in which one partner’s outcomes are inextricably linked to the other partner’s needs, goals, and behavioral tendencies. Despite this theoretical emphasis on interpersonal processes, most empirical work on personality and relationships has taken an intrapersonal perspective in which one partner’s personality is linked to his or her own relationship outcomes. In the current study, we address this gap by examining how individual differences in adult attachment style shape relationship outcomes not only for the ind...

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...e development and 538 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 24(4) at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from maintenance of secure relationships in both childhood and adulthood (Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006; Kunce & Shaver, 1994). In adult intimate relationships, responsive care and support helps individuals cope with stress, creates an overall atmosphere of goodwill between partners (Cutrona, 1996), and provides individuals with diagnostic information about their partner’s commitment to them and concern for their well-being (Collins & Feeney, 2004). Through such interactions, individuals learn whether they can count on their partner to understand their needs, accept responsibility for their well-being and make themselves emotionally (and physically) available when needed. Furthermore, it is precisely because people typically need social support when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable (e.g., when they are ill or emotionally vulnerable) that support interactions offer such a critical testing ground for judging their partner’s love. A partner’s acceptance and nurturance under these circumstances provides diagnostic evidence of t...

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...of comfort and support for their partners in times of stress, and a secure base from which their partners can pursue (explore) personal goals (see Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006 for an extended discussion of attachment style differences in caregiving skills, resources, and motivation). Consistent with these ideas, a number of studies provide evidence that secure individuals are more effective caregivers than insecure individuals. For example, in self-report studies, secure individuals report more responsive, less controlling, and less compulsive forms of caregiving than insecure individuals (Feeney, 1996; Feeney & Collins, 2001; Kunce & Shaver, 1994). In observational studies, secure individuals are rated by independent coders as providing more effective support to their partners than insecure individuals (e.g. Collins & Feeney, 2000; Simpson, Rholes, & Nelligan, 1992). Finally, in an experimental study in which the partner’s level of need for support was experimentally manipulated, avoidant individuals were found to be less responsive to their partner’s need (Feeney & Collins, 2001). In sum, existing evidence suggests that secure individuals provide more effective social support to close oth...

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...ovide responsive care because they have more of the necessary skills and resources for attending to the signals of close others and responding flexibly to needs as they arise, and because their own attachment needs are less likely to interfere with their caregiving activities. As a result, secure caregivers should be better able to match their support behavior to their partner’s specific needs, Kane et al.: Feeling supported and feeling satisfied 539 at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from which is a key component of effective social support (Cutrona, 1990). In addition, secure individuals are likely to have more adaptive beliefs and attitudes about careseeking and caregiving, which increases their sense of responsibility for the welfare of others and motivates them to utilize their resources in the service of others. For these and other reasons, secure individuals should be better able to serve as a safe haven of comfort and support for their partners in times of stress, and a secure base from which their partners can pursue (explore) personal goals (see Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006 for an extended discussion of attachment style differences ...

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... partners. Caregiving is an integral component of attachment bonds across the lifespan, and responsive caregiving is hypothesized to be a key factor in the development and 538 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 24(4) at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from maintenance of secure relationships in both childhood and adulthood (Collins, Guichard, et al., 2006; Kunce & Shaver, 1994). In adult intimate relationships, responsive care and support helps individuals cope with stress, creates an overall atmosphere of goodwill between partners (Cutrona, 1996), and provides individuals with diagnostic information about their partner’s commitment to them and concern for their well-being (Collins & Feeney, 2004). Through such interactions, individuals learn whether they can count on their partner to understand their needs, accept responsibility for their well-being and make themselves emotionally (and physically) available when needed. Furthermore, it is precisely because people typically need social support when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable (e.g., when they are ill or emotionally vulnerable) that support interactions offer such a cr...

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... consistent with our mediational model, experimental research (perhaps using priming techniques) is necessary to draw firm conclusions about the casual paths from attachment style to relationship satisfaction and perceptions of care, or from perceptions of care to relationship satisfaction. In addition, it is possible that other personality variables that covary with attachment style are more proximal predictors of relationship processes. Fortunately, prior research has shown that attachment style predicts relationship outcomes controlling for a number of related personality constructs (e.g., Collins, Ford, Guichard, & Allard, 2006). Understanding the role of personality in shaping relationship outcomes will also require that researchers explore the interaction of partners’ personalities. In the current study, we focused on the additive (main) effects of the actor’s personality and the partner’s personality in predicting the actor’s perceived care and relationship satisfaction. We believe that future research should further examine the interaction of partners’ attachment styles to identify the specific relationship contexts in which individuals are most and least likely to thrive. We note, however, that research on this...

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...rtner effects. Why might avoidance in men be more strongly associated with poor outcomes for women, and anxiety in women be more strongly associated with poor outcomes for men? These effects may be due to a variety of factors including the differential socialization of men and 552 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 24(4) at UNIV CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on January 25, 2010 http://spr.sagepub.comDownloaded from women, different needs and goals of men and women, or different ways in which anxiety and avoidance are expressed by men and women (Collins et al., 2002; Collins & Read, 1990; Cooper et al., 2006). Although the current study does not enable us to explain these gender differences, our findings point to the importance of developing a better theoretical understanding of how gender and gender-role norms might interact with attachment style to predict different outcomes for male and female partners. Future studies should also explore the ways in which anxiety and avoidance may be expressed differently in men and women, and may be perceived differently by male or female partners. Conclusion In conclusion, the results of this investigation highlight the importance of studying attachment dynam...

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...le 2: male = .85, female = .87). Sample items include: ‘My partner is responsive to my needs,’ ‘I can count on my partner to be there when I really need him/her,’ ‘I am quite satisfied with the support and care that my partner provides.’ Participants in Sample 1 responded on a 7-point scale from ‘Do not agree at all’ to ‘Agree completely’ and participants in Sample 2 responded on a 5-point scale from ‘Disagree strongly’ to ‘Agree strongly.’ Negative support. Participants completed a 6-item scale assessing the degree to which their partners respond negatively when providing support (based on Rini, Dunkel-Schetter, Hobel, Glynn, & Sandman, 2006; Sample 1: male = .84, female = .79; Sample 2: male = .74, female = .81). Participants were asked to think about how their partners behave when they provide help/support, and to rate how often their partners make them feel (i) helpless or inadequate, (ii) stupid, (iii) indebted or obligated to help in return, (iv) guilty, (v) unworthy of help, (vi) and like a burden. For both samples, participants responded on a 5-point scale from ‘Never’ to ‘Always’. Relationship satisfaction. Participants in Sample 1 completed the 6-item relationship satisfaction subscale (male = .85, female = .90) fr...

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...st individuals and an important predictor of health and well-being (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Uchino, Cacioppo, & KeicoltGlaser, 1996). However, cultivating mutually supportive relationships is not always easy. Partners often differ in their willingness and ability to respond to one another’s needs and to provide the type of support that promotes one another’s welfare and relationship satisfaction. Some individuals enter their relationships with personality characteristics that facilitate effective care and support, whereas others have characteristics that interfere with effective caregiving (Collins, Guichard, Ford, & Feeney, 2006). In the current article, we examine individual differences in adult attachment style as one important personality factor that may shape social support and caregiving processes in couples and may explain differences in relationship quality. In doing so, our primary focus is on the interpersonal link between one individual’s attachment style and the relationship experiences of his or her partner. It is often taken for granted that one partner’s personality can affect the other partner’s relationship experiences. Indeed, a number of central theories in the close relationships literature, includ...