Emotion regulation in emerging adult couples: Temperament, attachment, and HPA response to conflict

Difficulty managing the stress of conflict in close relationships can lead to mental and physical health problems, possibly through dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the neuroendocrine stress response system. Temperament, an individual characteristic, and attachment, a dyadic characteristic, have both been implicated in emotion regulation processes and physiological reactivity, yet there is no clear consensus on how the two work together to influence the stress response, especially after childhood. The present study investigated the ways in which temperament and attachment together predict HPA response in emerging adult couples. Analyses using multilevel modeling (HLM) found that partners' dyadic fit on attachment avoidance impacted females' cortisol response patterns, and attachment avoidance further moderated the effect of males' emotionality on both their own and their partners' cortisol. Results are discussed in terms of emotional coregulation processes in romantic attachment.

[1]  M. Kemeny.  The Psychobiology of Stress , 2003 .

[2]  D. Stern,et al.  Dyadically expanded states of consciousness and the process of therapeutic change , 1998 .

[3]  F J Floyd,et al.  Observational biases in spouse observation: toward a cognitive/behavioral model of marriage. , 1983, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[4]  Peter G. Kaufmann,et al.  Handbook of research methods in cardiovascular behavioral medicine , 1989 .

[5]  G. Spangler,et al.  Individual differences in biobehavioral organization during problem-solving in toddlers: the influence of maternal behavior, infant-mother attachment, and behavioral inhibition on the attachment-exploration balance. , 2005, Developmental psychobiology.

[6]  J. Hibbard,et al.  The quality of social roles as predictors of morbidity and mortality. , 1993, Social science & medicine.

[7]  Lee A. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Attachment style and presence of a romantic partner as moderators of psychophysiological responses to a stressful laboratory situation , 1996 .

[8]  J. Bates,et al.  Temperament in childhood. , 1989 .

[9]  K. Leonard,et al.  Attachment Styles and Marital Adjustment among Newlywed Couples , 1992 .

[10]  S. Mangelsdorf,et al.  Attachment, Temperament, and Adrenocortical Activity in Infancy. A Study of Psychoendocrine Regulation. , 1989 .

[11]  Kelly A. Brennan,et al.  Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. , 1998 .

[12]  G. Miller,et al.  If it goes up, must it come down? Chronic stress and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in humans. , 2007, Psychological bulletin.

[13]  S. Dickerson,et al.  Acute stressors and cortisol responses: a theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[14]  W. Malarkey,et al.  Spousal Support Satisfaction as a Modifier of Physiological Responses to Marital Conflict in Younger and Older Couples , 2004, Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

[15]  F. Goodwin,et al.  Clinical and biochemical manifestations of depression. Relation to the neurobiology of stress (2) , 1988, The New England journal of medicine.

[16]  J. Kiecolt-Glaser,et al.  Handbook of human stress and immunity , 1994 .

[17]  Clemens Kirschbaum,et al.  Sex-Specific Effects of Social Support on Cortisol and Subjective Responses to Acute Psychological Stress , 1995, Psychosomatic medicine.

[18]  R. Parritz,et al.  Behavioral inhibition and stress reactivity: the moderating role of attachment security. , 1996, Child development.

[19]  Kelly A. Brennan,et al.  An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. , 2000, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[20]  B. Klimes-Dougan,et al.  Socialization of Discrete Negative Emotions: Gender Differences and Links with Psychological Distress , 2002 .

[21]  B. Vaughn,et al.  Attachment and temperament: Redundant, independent, or interacting influences on interpersonal adaptation and personality development? , 1999 .

[22]  O. Cameron,et al.  Effect of comorbid anxiety disorders on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis response to a social stressor in major depression , 2004, Biological Psychiatry.

[23]  M. Gunnar,et al.  Social regulation of the cortisol levels in early human development , 2002, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[24]  A. Buss,et al.  Temperament: Early Developing Personality Traits , 1984 .

[25]  Bruce S. McEwen,et al.  The neurobiology of stress: from serendipity to clinical relevance. , 2000, Brain research.

[26]  Attachment as an Organizational Construct , 1977 .

[27]  V. Helgeson.  The effects of masculinity and social support on recovery from myocardial infarction. , 1991, Psychosomatic medicine.

[28]  C. Kuhn.  Adrenocortical and Gonadal Steroids in Behavioral Cardiovascular Medicine , 1989 .

[29]  J. Kiecolt-Glaser,et al.  Marriage and health: his and hers. , 2001, Psychological bulletin.

[30]  J. Coyne,et al.  Marital quality, coping with conflict, marital complaints, and affection in couples with a depressed wife , 2002 .

[31]  R. Plomin,et al.  The Study of temperament : changes, continuities, and challenges , 1986 .

[32]  A. Schore.  Effects of a secure attachment relationship on right brain development, affect regulation, and infant mental health , 2001 .

[33]  J. Rodin,et al.  Effect of chronic stress and exogenous glucocorticoids on regional fat distribution and metabolism , 1992, Physiology & Behavior.

[34]  A. Schore,et al.  Attachment and the regulation of the right brain , 2000, Attachment & human development.

[35]  C. Hazan,et al.  Attachment in marriage: effects of security and accuracy of working models. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[36]  Anthony S. Bryk,et al.  Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods , 1992 .

[37]  J. Simpson,et al.  Attachment theory and close relationships. , 1998 .

[38]  J. Maser,et al.  Comorbidity of mood and anxiety disorders , 1990 .

[39]  L. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Effects of adult attachment and presence of romantic partners on physiological responses to stress. , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[40]  M. Gunnar,et al.  Stress reactivity and attachment security. , 1996, Developmental psychobiology.

[41]  M. Hofer,et al.  Relationships as regulators: a psychobiologic perspective on bereavement. , 1984, Psychosomatic medicine.

[42]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  Social neuroscience: autonomic, neuroendocrine, and immune responses to stress. , 1994, Psychophysiology.

[43]  Joanne Davila,et al.  Depressive symptoms and marital satisfaction: within-subject associations and the moderating effects of gender and neuroticism. , 2003, Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association.

[44]  M. Rothbart.  Temperament in childhood: A framework. , 1989 .

[45]  S. Chess,et al.  Temperament and Development , 1977 .

[46]  J. Riksen-Walraven,et al.  Stress reactivity in 15-month-old infants: links with infant temperament, cognitive competence, and attachment security. , 2004, Developmental psychobiology.

[47]  Lisa G. Aspinwall,et al.  Emotion Regulation Across the Life Span: An Integrative Perspective Emphasizing Self-Regulation, Positive Affect, and Dyadic Processes , 2003 .

[48]  W. Malarkey,et al.  Love, marriage, and divorce: Newlyweds' stress hormones foreshadow relationship changes , 2003 .

[49]  Ann L. Brown,et al.  Advances in developmental psychology , 1981 .

[50]  Phillip R. Shaver,et al.  Handbook of attachment : theory, research, and clinical applications , 1999 .

[51]  C. Hazan,et al.  Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. , 1987, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[52]  W. Maier,et al.  High neuroticism and depressive temperament are associated with dysfunctional regulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical system in healthy volunteers , 2004, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[53]  Mario Mikulincer,et al.  Attachment-related psychodynamics , 2002, Attachment & human development.

[54]  G. Spangler,et al.  Emotional and Adrenocortical Responses of Infants to the Strange Situation: The Differential Function of Emotional Expression , 1998 .

[55]  Jeffry A. Simpson,et al.  Support seeking and support giving within couples in an anxiety-provoking situation: The role of attachment styles. , 1992 .

[56]  J. Simpson,et al.  Conflict in close relationships: an attachment perspective. , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.