Relations of Couples' Attachment Styles To
Big spoon or little spoon: Relations of couples’ attachment styles to cuddling, affection, sleep, and relationship satisfaction by Ana Cikara A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Auburn, Alabama May 05, 2019 Copyright 2019 by Ana Cikara Approved by Joseph A. Buckhalt, Chair, Wayne T. Smith Distinguished Professor, Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling Marilyn A. Cornish, Assistant Professor, Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling Francesca Adler-Baeder, Professor, Human Development and Family Studies Benjamin Hinnant, Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the association of attachment styles on relationship satisfaction and sleep quality in romantic couples. The study also sought to understand how cuddling and other types of affection (i.e. verbal and supportive) may mediate those relationships. The Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was used to examine 104 heterosexual couples from the United States to determine whether actor and/or partner effects were present for the relationship between insecure attachment (i.e. anxious and avoidant) and relationship satisfaction. APIM was also used to determine whether actor/partner effects were present between insecure attachment and sleep disturbance. Significant actor effects were present in these models, indicating those who reported higher anxious and avoidant attachment, reported lower relationship satisfaction, and higher sleep disturbance. Some of the partner effects for the outcome of relationship satisfaction were also significant. The APIM with mediation (APIMeM) and bias-corrected bootstrapped confidence limits were used to assess mediation and test the significance of the indirect effects of cuddling, affectionate communication, and sleep disturbance.
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