Examining the association between perceived partner commitment and relationship feelings among anxiously attached...

The Attachment Security Enhancement Model proposes that a romantic partner reassuring an anxiously attached person of their commitment can help deescalate negative feelings (i.e. an interpersonal process). However, this can be taxing on the partner and requires the anxious person to accurately detect the partner's buffering attempts. Instead, it may be beneficial for anxious people to consistently perceive greater partner commitment on their own (i.e. an intrapersonal process) to promote relationship quality. The current study incorporated a dyadic diary design. On days in which highly anxious participants perceived greater partner commitment, they reported greater positive relationship feelings; less anxious (i.e. secure) and avoidant participants did not exhibit this pattern. These results add to the existing literature on attachment buffering by providing preliminary evidence of daily perceived partner commitment as one possible defense against erosion of relationship satisfaction due to high levels of attachment anxiety.