Title:
The relation between positive self-expansion, negative self-expansion, and relationship satisfaction: the moderating role of attachment anxiety
Author:
Jessica W. England
Thesis Advisor:
Theresa DiDonato
Thesis Advisor:
Beth A. Kotchick
Committee Member:
Martin Sherman
Committee Member:
James Miracky
Committee Member:
Sharon Green-Hennessy
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2014
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
Relationship satisfaction is positively associated with self-expansion, the self-concept change attributed to an incorporation of shared experiences and partner aspects into individuals' own self-concepts (A. Aron, Aron, and Smollan, 1992; A. Aron, Norman, Aron, McKenna, and Heyman, 2000). However, self-expansion (Lewandowski and Aron, 2002) is measured exclusively in positive, not negative, ways. Attachment anxiety is inversely correlated with relationship satisfaction (Mikulincer and Shaver, 2007), but recent research has shown that individuals with higher attachment anxiety may experience greater self-expansion (Slotter and Gardner, 2012a). The present study examined the association between self-expansion, termed here as positive self-expansion (PSE), negative self expansion (NSE), and relationship satisfaction as a function of attachment anxiety. One hundred and thirty-six undergraduates, majority being college-aged women, who indicated that they were in serious, exclusive romantic relationships were recruited to complete online questionnaires. We found a significant positive relation between PSE and relationship satisfaction, and attachment anxiety significantly moderated this relation such that the positive relation between PSE and relationship satisfaction was stronger for those with higher attachment anxiety. Further, we found a significant inverse relation between NSE and relationship satisfaction, and attachment anxiety significantly moderated this relation as well, such that the relation between NSE and relationship satisfaction was stronger for those with higher attachment anxiety. We also found that NSE partially mediated the relation between attachment anxiety and relationship satisfaction. Results highlight the importance of higher PSE and lower NSE in romantic relationships, especially for individuals with higher attachment anxiety.
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Master of Science
Level:
Master
Discipline:
Counseling Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online to Loyola Notre Dame Library basic constituency.
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Identifier:
EnglandJW-14
