Attachment Injury Severity, Injury-related Stress, Forgiveness, and Sexual Satisfaction in Injured Adult Partners

ABSTRACT

An attachment injury can occur when one partner violates the assumption that they will provide comfort and caring during a moment of increased need. For injured partners, unresolved attachment injuries can underlie an enduring stress reaction and lower relationship satisfaction. However, no research has examined the associations between the perceived severity of the injury and sexual satisfaction, a central component of relationship well-being. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the direct and indirect associations between the perceived severity of the attachment injury and sexual satisfaction via injury-related stress symptoms and levels of forgiveness, in injured partners. A total of 145 adults who reported having experienced an attachment injury in their current relationship completed self-report questionnaires measuring injury severity, event-related stress, forgiveness, and sexual satisfaction. An indirect association between the perceived severity of the attachment injury and sexual satisfaction through higher injury-related stress and lower forgiveness was found via a path analysis. Results suggest that fostering forgiveness and attending to injury-related stress may be key toward sexual satisfaction in couples where a partner reports an attachment injury. Clinical implications of these results are discussed in light of theory and potential treatment strategies for addressing an attachment injury in couple’s therapy.

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Social Science's Research Support Program [153975]; and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [435-2021-0110].

Acknowledgments

Roxanne Bolduc holds a Joseph-Armand-Bombardier doctoral scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Michelle Lonergan held a postdoctoral fellowship from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Cultures while working on this project, and currently holds a postdoctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Leah Clement holds an Ontario Graduate Scholarship from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.