The mediator role of marital satisfaction between the attachment styles and relationship-cen- tered and partner-focused obsessive compulsive symptoms

Abstract

Insecure attachment in close relationships in adulthood affects the quality of the relation-ship and is closely related to various psychopathologies. Relationship-centered and partner-oriented obsessions and compulsions are concepts that have been introduced to the litera-ture in recent years and are considered an important part of obsessive-compulsive symp-toms. Although previous studies investigated the associations between insecure attachment patterns and relationship obsessive-compulsive disorder in individuals in romantic relation-ships, the mediator role of marital satisfaction in this relationship has not been examined. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediational role of marital satisfaction between the relationship adult attachment styles and relationship-centered and partner-focused ob-sessive-compulsive symptoms. The sample of the study consisted of 380 married individu-als (200 females, 180 males) between the ages of 22-70 (M = 40.75, SD = 10.57) living in Istanbul, Turkey. Participants completed the Sociodemographic Information Form, Experi-ences in Close Relationship Scale-Revised (ECR-R), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), Rela-tionship Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (ROCI) and, Partner-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms Inventory (PROCSI). Findings indicated that marital satisfaction demonstrated a mediational role between insecure attachment styles and relationship-centered and partner-focused obsessive-compulsive symptoms. These results implicate that clinicians might consider the role of the insecure attachment styles and marital satisfaction in the treatment of relationship obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Keywords

• anxious attachment
• avoidant attachment
• marital satisfaction
• relationship centered obsessive compulsive symptoms
• partner focused obsessive compulsive symptoms