Attachment Style and Marital Commitment in the Context of Remarriage

Abstract

Adults and children benefit from the stability of remarried families, but second marriages are initially at higher risk for dissolution than first marriages. Grounded in attachment theory, this study examined how remarried parents' attachment styles influenced perspectives on marital commitment as a key psychological factor in strengthening the quality and duration of second marriages. Based on the responses of 145 remarried parents, the hypothesis that individuals with a more secure attachment style would report significantly higher marital commitment scores than insecure individuals was supported. Gender differences were explored, and implications for couples' therapies that emphasize attachment histories and commitment were discussed.

Keywords:

• attachment
• marital commitment
• remarriage

Acknowledgments

The Families in Motion Research and Information Group in the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria is supported by a Standard Research Grant awarded to Marion F. Ehrenberg by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), which is acknowledged with gratitude.

Notes

¹It has been shown that individuals who marry multiple times exhibit different personality and behavioral traits than those who only remarry once (Brody et al., 1988).