An Investigation of Predictive Marital Adjustment Base of Attachment Styles in Iranian Married Women

Introduction: Current figures indicate that many of first marriages in Iran will end in separation or divorce due to many problems, one of these causes of this phenomenon is a marital adjustment. Marital adjustment denotes emotional stability, intellectual efficiency, social effectiveness people and acts as a fundamental contributor to the health and development of family members. One of the most important factors influencing marital adjustment is attachment styles. This study aimed to determine the relationship between attachment styles and marital adjustment in women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 220 women referring to counselling centers in 2016. The participants were selected via available sampling. The data collection instruments consisted of two standardized questionnaires include Spanier’s marital adjustment (1976), and Collins and Read’s Adult Attachment Style Scale. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 19) using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient, and stepwise regression analysis, regression equation. Results: The attachment styles were predictors of marital adjustment. There was a significant negative correlation between marital adjustment, anxious and avoidant attachment styles while the correlation between marital adjustment and secure attachment style was significantly positive. Conclusion: The results showed that the early relationship within the family environment supports a certain attachment style and the effects of the avoidant insecure and ambivalent insecure styles affect the interpersonal relations of the couples in adulthood. As attachment styles are contributory to marital adjustment, counselors can build on couple therapy approach to have an effective role in modifying attachment styles of the couple and solving their conflicts both before and after marriage.