Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is common among college students and university counseling centers require strategies for addressing this health problem (Amar & Gennaro, 2005; Gover, Kaukinin, & Fox, 2004; Murray & Kardatzke, 2007). Attachment theory may provide strong theoretical and empirical grounding for guiding IPV prevention and intervention efforts (Magdol et al., 1998; Schwartz et al., 2006; Scott, Wolfe, & Wekerle, 2003). The present study evaluated a variety of social and emotional risk factors as potential mediators and moderators of the relation between attachment relevant variables and IPV victimization and perpetration in a college sample. None of the primary hypotheses were fully supported; however, women who reported IPV histories exhibited higher levels of anxious romantic attachment than women without IPV histories. Further, partner delinquency moderated the relation between problems with anger modulation and IPV. Sex differences were examined for study variables and women were more likely than men to experience both IPV victimization and perpetration. These results are compared to prior empirical findings and implications for potential prevention and intervention strategies with college students are identified. Methodological considerations that may influence the interpretation of study data are also presented and discussed.

This study examined associations among romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance, positive and negative religious coping, and marital adjustment in a community sample of 81 heterosexual couples. Both spouses completed the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR), a brief measure of religious coping (Brief RCOPE), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and a demographic questionnaire as part of a larger study. Multilevel modeling (MLM) for the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) was used. Attachment avoidance was inversely related to positive religious coping. In contrast, attachment anxiety was directly related to negative religious coping. Positive religious coping buffered the relationship between attachment avoidance and marital adjustment. In contrast, attachment anxiety was detrimental to marital adjustment regardless of positive religious coping, and positive religious coping was related to higher marital adjustment only in the context of low attachment anxiety. Surprisingly, the spouse's attachment anxiety was inversely related to the respondent's marital adjustment only when the respondent reported low levels of negative religious coping, whereas in the context of high negative religious coping, the partner's attachment anxiety was related to higher marital adjustment. Results support using attachment theory to conceptualize religious coping and the consideration of both attachment and religious coping constructs in counseling.

No description available.

Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25 years) is a developmental period marked by changes in attachment, the onset of serious dating relationships, and rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) up to 40% and 90% for physical and psychological IPV, respectively. This dissertation aims to investigate moderators of the link between insecure attachment, a known risk factor for IPV, and psychological IPV, coercive controlling behaviours, and relational aggression in emerging adulthood. One hundred and seventeen undergraduate students in dating relationships were recruited to partake in a baseline assessment followed by a 14-day daily diary study. During the baseline assessment, participants self-reported on putative trait level risk factors such as demographics and insecure attachment. During the daily diary portion, participants reported on their use of partner aggression (physical and psychological IPV, coercive controlling behaviours, and relational aggression; however, due to low base rates, physical IPV could not be analyzed as an outcome), as well as their experiences of felt partner acceptance and rejection, support and conflict in their relationships, alcohol use, and stress for each day. I hypothesized that attachment anxiety, problems in the dyadic relationship (inadequate support, conflict, and felt rejection and anxiety about acceptance), and putative disinhibitors (stress and alcohol consumption) would be directly linked to risk for perpetration of all forms of aggression and interact to predict risk for partner aggression. Hypotheses regarding partner support, conflict, and felt regard were also tested. Specifically, I hypothesized that ratings of partner support fit, hurt as a result of conflict, and daily felt regard would differ for more insecurely attached versus more securely attached individuals. Following application of exclusion criteria, data from 98 participants were analyzed using multilevel modeling in Hierarchical Linear Modeling (Raudenbush et al., 1995). The results from this dissertation underscore the importance of attachment anxiety as an individual risk factor for IPV and identified more proximal risk factors that fluctuate on a daily basis. Attachment anxiety, felt rejection, and conflict were related to risk for all three forms of IPV. Unexpectedly, attachment avoidance was linked to decreased risk for coercive control. Anxiety about acceptance was uniquely associated with risk for psychological IPV, and inadequate support fit was uniquely associated with risk for coercive control. Greater attachment anxiety interacted with high conflict to predict greater risk for coercive control. No other significant two-way interactions between attachment anxiety and problems in the dyadic relationship emerged. Contrary to hypotheses, stress and alcohol consumption were linked to decreased risk for coercive control. Stress also appeared to suppress the link between dyadic problems and risk for psychological IPV on a given day, and dyadic problems paired with alcohol consumption was related to a decreased risk of coercive control. High stress and greater dyadic problems interacted to predict greater risk for coercive control as expected. No conclusions could be drawn about 2-way interactions between stress and dyadic problems and alcohol consumption and dyadic problems when predicting relational aggression, as the model did not converge. This study did not find support for the “perfect storm theory” of aggression (in which a 3-way interaction between risk factors is associated with greatest risk of IPV) when predicting psychological IPV. The “perfect storm theory” could not be tested in relation to coercive control and relational aggression as these models did not converge. The findings from this study contribute to our knowledge of why some people perpetrate IPV and not others, and why people perpetrate IPV on some days and not others. These results inform the multiple possible points of entry for prevention and interventions aiming to promote healthy relationships in emerging adults. / Graduate

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the direct, purposeful self-infliction of injury, which results in tissue damage, is performed without conscious suicidal intent and through methods that are not socially sanctioned (Nixon & Heath, 2009). The phenomenon of self-injurious behaviours is alarming, especially among adolescents and young adults (Muehlenkamp, 2005). In fact, it is estimated that lifetime prevalence of NSSI in young adults within the general population is around 12% to 38% (for reviews, see Heath, Schaub, Holly, & Nixon, 2009; Jacobson & Gould, 2007; Rodham & Hawton, 2009). While this proportion declines when assessing recent NSSI (i.e., usually performed in the past six months or in the past year), the numbers are still disturbing with 2.5% to 12.5% of young adults reporting current NSSI (for reviews, see Heath et al., 2009; Jacobson & Gould, 2007; Rodham & Hawton, 2009). The goal of this thesis is to investigate the associations between romantic relationships and NSSI in young adults and to address two major limitations that emerge from the literature, namely: a) several theoretical hypotheses have yet to be validated despite considerable advances in the scientific study of NSSI; and b) with the exception of one study, the few studies available relating romantic relationships and NSSI solely focused on the individual level of analysis instead of including both partners in the model. This goal will be addressed through three articles, each targeting specific objectives. For the sake of methodological rigor and for adequate evaluation of the constructs under study, the purpose of the first study was to validate the factorial structure of the English version of the Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI; Bodenmann, 2008). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) corroborated the measurement theory of the DCI by revealing the presence of five coping factors (i.e., stress communication, supportive dyadic coping, delegated dyadic coping, negative dyadic coping, common dyadic coping) and two target factors (i.e., one’s own dyadic coping and partner’s dyadic coping). The English DCI also demonstrated good internal reliability and yielded preliminary evidence of concurrent validity. All together, these findings lead to the conclusion that the English DCI is an accurate and reliable measure of dyadic coping, and that researchers can use the English DCI confidently in their research to evaluate dyadic coping processes. The established factorial structure of the English DCI was then used in subsequent studies of this thesis. The purpose of the second study was to investigate direct and indirect associations between insecure romantic attachment, difficulties in emotion regulation and common dyadic coping strategies, and endorsement of NSSI behaviours. From an empirical standpoint, this study is the first to explore these specific relationships in one comprehensive model, targeting both interpersonal and intrapersonal strategies to deal with stressful experiences and the role it might have on one’s NSSI behaviours. Overall, the results revealed that difficulties in emotion regulation mediated the relationships between romantic attachment insecurity (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and NSSI, whereas no such effects were found for common dyadic coping strategies. Findings from this study suggest that intrapersonal strategies (i.e., emotion regulation) might be more influential on one’s NSSI behaviours than behavioural strategies (i.e., common dyadic coping). This study also offers a first step towards the understanding of the romantic relational context of individuals struggling with NSSI behaviours. The next step remains to explore the couple as the unit of analysis rather than focusing on only one member of the relationship, giving way to the third study of this thesis. The primary aim of the third study was to generate a general portrait of young women’s romantic relationship functioning, distinguishing women who recently self-injured from those who have never self-injured. This study was designed to permit the exploration of not only the individual-level effects, but also potential effects from the romantic partner. Through a series of nonparametric Mann-Whitney U tests, results revealed that women who engage in NSSI behaviours are more likely to report subjective distress in the form of attachment anxiety and distrust compared to women who do not engage in NSSI behaviours. They also reported good, but slightly lower levels of, relationship satisfaction and adaptive dyadic coping strategies compared to women who have never engaged in NSSI. Findings also showed that partners of women who engage in NSSI behaviour reported more attachment anxiety than partners of women who do not engage in NSSI behaviours. The women and their partner’s reports about their romantic relationship experiences provide unique insight into the similarities and differences of individuals who self-injure and those who do not. Furthermore, a cursory exploration of the partners’ NSSI behaviours revealed that nearly one-third of the partners in a relationship with women who self-injured also reported having recently engaged in NSSI behaviours. These findings add some depth to the understanding of the relational context of those who are struggling with NSSI and provide future directions in research.

Non-suicidal self-injury (referred to hereafter as self-injury) is considered a serious health concern among young adult populations, and is associated with a host of devastating physical and psychological consequences (Hasking, Momeni, Swannell, & Chia, 2008). Self-injury encompasses both thoughts of harming oneself in addition to acts of self-injury. Elevated lifetime prevalence rates of 13-17% suggest that self-injury is an issue of widespread nature, with reports indicating that a considerable proportion of young adults engage in self-injurious thoughts and behaviours (Nixon, Cloutier, & Jansson, 2008; Swannell, Martin, Page, Hasking, & St John, 2014; Whitlock, Eckenrode, & Silverman, 2006). Identifying the factors that precede self-injury is crucial to advancing current clinical conceptualizations and treatment strategies for those engaging in such thoughts and behaviours (Schenk, Noll, & Cassarly, 2010). Despite the recognized role of romantic relationship experiences in contributing to the functioning and adjustment of the individuals comprising the romantic dyad, very little empirical attention has been paid to examining whether dimensions of romantic relationships are linked to the use of self-injury. The present thesis, consisting of two independent studies, sought to provide a better understanding of the factors underlying this troubling phenomenon by examining links between dimensions of romantic relationships and self-injurious thoughts and behaviours among community-based young adults involved in couple relationships. The studies presented in the present thesis were approved by the University of Ottawa’s Research Ethics Board (see Appendix A for the Ethics Approval Certificate). The first study involved testing a novel conceptual model in which intimate partner violence victimization (i.e., physical, psychological, and sexual violence) was examined as a potential mediator of the relationship between child maltreatment (i.e., neglect; witnessing family violence; and physical, psychological, and sexual abuse) and self-injurious thoughts and behaviours. The sample consisted of 406 young adults (346 females; M = 19.87 years) who were involved in a couple relationship for a duration of at least six months at the time of participation. Results from bootstrapping procedures partially supported the theory put forth. Intimate partner violence victimization partially mediated the direct effect of child maltreatment on self-injurious behaviours. Contrary to predictions, intimate partner violence victimization did not mediate the association between child maltreatment and self-injurious thoughts. Hence, findings suggest that individuals who have experienced both forms of family violence may be particularly vulnerable to engaging in self-injurious behaviours. The second study comprised an investigation of the links between the three romantic behavioural systems (consisting of the attachment, caregiving, and sexual systems) and self-injurious thoughts and behaviours, and examined the incremental contributions of the systems in the prediction of young adult self-injury. The sample consisted of 255 young adults (223 females; Mage = 19.98 years) currently involved in a couple relationship. Linear discriminant analyses revealed that participants endorsing self-injurious thoughts experienced greater attachment anxiety and avoidance, controlling and compulsive romantic caregiving behaviours, and lower sexual satisfaction than did participants who did not endorse such thoughts. In contrast, findings indicated that the behavioural systems did not predict self-injurious behaviours. Such findings suggest that dimensions of the three interrelated behavioural systems hold unique roles in understanding young adult self-injurious thoughts, and that the constructs that predict self-injurious thoughts may differ from those that predict self-injurious behaviours.

The relationship between female undergraduate students’ (n = 151) reports of parental emotion coaching in childhood and their reports of emotion regulation, romantic attachment, and romantic intimacy in young adulthood was investigated. The female undergraduate students completed additional questionnaires about their mood, personality characteristics, and relationship satisfaction in young adulthood, and parental warmth in childhood. Remembered supportive emotion coaching (comprised of Emotion-Focused Reactions, Problem-Focused Reactions and Expressive Encouragement) was significantly and positively correlated with healthier emotion regulation (reappraisal), and was significantly and negatively correlated with less healthy emotion regulation (suppression). Remembered unsupportive emotion coaching (comprised of Minimizing Reactions, Punitive Reactions, and Distress Reactions) was significantly and positively correlated with romantic avoidant and anxious attachment. Romantic intimacy was not significantly correlated with remembered supportive or unsupportive emotion coaching. Emotion regulation mediated the relationship between remembered emotion coaching and avoidant and anxious attachment, but not romantic intimacy. Emotion regulation continued to mediate the relationship between remembered emotion coaching and avoidant attachment after mood, personality characteristics, relationship satisfaction, and parental warmth were entered into the model as covariates, but emotion regulation did not continue to mediate the relationship after covariates were entered into the model when anxious attachment was the predicted variable.

While extensive research has been done examining stress in families using the Double ABCX model and examining stress management using attachment theory, there is no research combining the model to understand how they might be integrated in understanding stress and coping. The current study uses the Double ABCX model and research on attachment to suggest that attachment relationships will be the primary resource to adjust for military families during deployment. Two extreme case studies were selected to explore the interplay of these two models. The in-depth interviews of the women with a deployed spouse and with children in the home were examined. Exploration of the experiences of the two women informed a model in understanding the synthesis of stress and attachment and understanding the influence of meaning making and adjustment. Therapeutic implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed. / Master of Science

Stress has traditionally been conceptualized as an intrapsychic phenomenon with detrimental effects on one's physiological and psychological health when coping resources are perceived to be inadequate (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). However, empirical findings from the past three decades suggest that stressful life events have crossover effects from one person to another, namely from one romantic partner to the other (Bodenmann et al., 2006). Hence, stress experienced in the context of romantic relationships is now better understood as an interpersonal phenomenon with potential negative interpersonal (i.e., relationship satisfaction) and intrapersonal ramifications (i.e., mental health) for both partners (Papp & Witt, 2010; Randall & Bodenmann, 2009; Rusu et al., 2016). Due to the interdependent nature of couple relationships, romantic partners engage in a joint stress management process called dyadic coping in an attempt to restore individual and relational homeostasis, and buffer against these negative consequences (Bodenmann et al., 2006). Emerging research has found that common dyadic coping (CDC), which is a specific form of dyadic coping that occurs when both partners conjointly work together towards mitigating or resolving stressors experienced as a dyad, is the most salient form of dyadic coping for couples facing stressors (Falconier et al., 2015). The romantic attachment framework has provided valuable direction to researchers in their understanding of couples coping with stress as insecure romantic attachment is well-known to interfere with adequate coping (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016). Given that romantic attachment has been found to be a predictor of relationship functioning and protective factor against mental health disorders (Cassidy & Shaver, 2016; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2016), researchers have been increasingly focused on studying the mechanisms by which they are related. While few studies have examined dyadic coping within a romantic attachment framework (Alves et al., 2019; Fuenfhausen & Cashwell, 2013; Levesque et al., 2017; Levey, 2003; Meuwly et al., 2012), far fewer have narrowed the focus to the ways in which CDC may explain the development of interpersonal (i.e., relationship satisfaction) and intrapersonal outcomes (i.e., mental health) using dyadic data analyses. The unique nature of CDC therefore necessitates research elucidating its role in these links within and between romantic partners. Therefore, the present thesis expands the existing literature on CDC through a romantic attachment lens in two independent yet complimentary studies. The objective of the first study was to evaluate how CDC mediates the relationship between insecure romantic attachment (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and relationship satisfaction among couples in good health sampled from the community. The objective of the second study was to examine the potential mediational effects of CDC on the association between insecure romantic attachment (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and mental health indicators of depression and anxiety among couples in which one partner has a diagnosis of cardiac illness. The first study was an investigation of the interpersonal process of CDC as a potential mediator of the association between insecure romantic attachment (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and relationship satisfaction. The sample consisted of 187 heterosexual couples (N = 374 individuals) from the community. An Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM) was used to assess actor, partner, and direct and indirect effects. Results revealed that the higher men were on attachment avoidance, the less likely they and their partner were to engage in joint coping efforts, which in turn appeared to make men less satisfied with their romantic relationship. However, the degree to which avoidantly attached women felt satisfied with their romantic relationship was solely influenced by their own CDC. Results also showed that the higher men and women were on attachment avoidance, the less they engaged in joint coping efforts, which in turn made them less satisfied with their relationship. Results also revealed that the higher men (but not women), were on attachment anxiety, the less they engaged in CDC, which in turn made men less satisfied with their relationship. Lastly, the higher men were on attachment avoidance (but not women), the less their partner engaged in joint coping efforts, which in turn made men less satisfied with their relationship. In the second study, we examined the potential mediational effects of CDC on the relationship between insecure romantic attachment (i.e., attachment anxiety and avoidance) and mental health outcomes (i.e., depression and anxiety). The sample consisted of 181 patients and their spouses (N = 362 individuals), where one of the partners had received a cardiac diagnosis. An APIMeM was used to test hypothesized relations. While the hypothesized mediations were not confirmed, our results provide partial support to the tested model since patient and spouse attachment anxiety were significantly related to their own mental health. Results also showed that patient and spouse attachment avoidance were associated both with their own and their partner's CDC.

This study explores the relationships among parent, peer, and romantic attachment, identity processing style, and emotion regulation. Previous studies have revealed potential associations among each of the aforementioned factors (e.g., between identity and attachment as well as between attachment and emotion regulation), but this is the first study to examine the three factors together, putting emphasis on romantic attachment. It was predicted that attachment will vary depending on the interaction between identity processing style and emotion regulation. College students (N= 390) in psychology courses participated in an anonymous online survey for course credit. Parent attachment was significantly predicted by age, gender, cognitive reappraisal, the diffuse-avoidant identity style, and the normative identity style; peer attachment was significantly predicted by expressive suppression, the diffuse-avoidant identity style, and the informational identity style. Regarding romantic attachment, attachment-anxiety was significantly predicted by the diffuse-avoidant identity style and attachment-avoidance was significantly predicted by age and expressive suppression. Additional analyses and their theoretical implications are further discussed.