The purpose of this study is to examine if there are any gender differences in martial satisfaction in relation to the two elements of adult attachment: avoidance attachment and anxiety attachment. This study also attempts to examine the hypothesis ...
The purpose of this study is to examine if there are any gender differences in martial satisfaction in relation to the two elements of adult attachment: avoidance attachment and anxiety attachment. This study also attempts to examine the hypothesis that the higher the dfferentiation of self in avoidance attachment and anxiety attachment is, a couple would have greater marital satisfaction. For the study, 299 couples residing in Chung-Choung province were selected and surveyed for; Adult Attachment Measurment, Differentiation of Self Inventory, and Marital Satisfaction Measurement. For the analysis of the collected data, Factor Analysis, Cronbach's Alpha, Pearson Correlations, Regression Analysis, and Multiple Regression Analysis were performed.
The result of the regression analysis shows that men's avoidance attachment and anxiety attachment were in the negative relationship with both his, and his spouse's marital satisfaction. In women's case, avoidance attachment was in the negative relationship with both her and her spouse's marital satisfaction, however, anxiety attachment did not show such relationship with her and her spouse's marital satisfaction. Therefore, in the women's case, it is verified that both her and her spouse's marital satisfaction show differently from that of husband, in avoidance attachment and anxiety attachment. The result of multiple regression analysis, which is used to examine the relationship between adult attachment and differentiation of self, indicated that in the men's case of avoid attachment, as the levels of the fusion with others and "I" position were higher and emotional cut off is lower in differentiation of self inventory, marital satisfaction was shown greater. However this relationship didn't appear in relation to men's anxiety attachment and women's avoidance attachment and anxiety attachment. Accordingly, it is verified that avoidance attachment which affects on men's marital satisfaction is correlated to the fusion with others, "I" position, and emotional cut off. However, in the case of the fusion with others, some differences were found from the previous study results. The implication and limitation of this study and the suggestions for the future study were discussed.