fei75766_ch05_149-178.indd 172  02/06/20 11:22 AM
Part II    Psychodynamic Theories172
Outpatient Clinic inSaoPaulo, Brazil. Thecomparison group consisted of31people 
whowerematched inageandgender buthadnohistory ofpsychiatric disorders.
Inaddition tocompleting theQuestionnaire ofAffective Relationships (QAR) 
thatassesses whether participants arepathologically jealous ornot,participants also
completed abattery ofquestionnaires, including theAdult Attachment Questionnaire 
byHazan andShaver, aswellasmeasures ofrelationship quality, novelty-seeking, 
persistence, impulsivity, anxiety, depression, andaggressiveness. Costa andcol-
leagues found thatthose withpathological jealousy hadattachment styles thatwere
lesssecure, more avoidant, andmore anxious-ambivalent thanthose whowerenot
pathologically jealous. Thejealous participants alsowerelesssatisfied intheirrela-
tionships, more impulsive, andmore likely toseeknewandnovel experiences. 
Another topic ofresearch hasbeen conflict, attachment style, andromantic 
relationships. Conflict isaninevitable partofevery romantic relationship, anda
great dealofresearch hasbeen conducted ontheways adult attachment styles influ-
encehowpartners react toandbehave during conflict. Research shows that,gener -
allyspeaking, insecurely attached partners (both anxious-ambivalent andavoidant) 
donotcope withconflict aswellastheirsecure counterparts. Forexample, anxious 
andavoidant partners experience greater autonomic nervous system reactivity dur-
ingconflict discussions withtheirspouses thandosecurely attached individuals 
(Powers, Pietromonaco, Gunlicks, &Sayer, 2006). Andpartners withanxious attach -
ment styles tendtoescalate theemotional severity ofconflicts (Simpson, Rholes, &
Phillips, 1996).
Thetransition toparenthood isaparticularly stressful timeformany couples, 
andconflict levels tendtorise.Rholes andcolleagues (2014) conducted alongitudi -
nalstudy oftheways theattachment styles ofnewmothers andfathers played arole
intheirexperience ofconflict during thisspecific moment intime. Couples whowere
expecting theirfirstchild wererecruited during childbirth classes, andtheycompleted 
self-report andperception-of-partner measures ofconflict approaches, attachment 
style, andrelationship satisfaction fivedifferent times, from approximately 6weeks 
before theirexpected duedate, through 24months aftertheirchild wasborn.
Theresults revealed thatmore anxious andavoidant partners usedlesseffec -
tiveconflict resolution styles, suchasverbal aggression or“stalemating” asopposed 
tocollaboration. Furthermore, theinsecurely attached individuals perceived more 
destructive conflict tactics being directed atthem bytheirpartners during thisstress -
fultime. Notsurprisingly, most ofthepartners inthestudy—both women andmen—
reported enacting andreceiving fewer helpful andmore destructive conflict tactics 
asthetransition toparenthood unfolded. Thegood news isthatthemore securely 
attached individuals inthestudy showed improvement overtime, adjusting totheir
status asparents aswellaspartners, andusing fewer ineffective andmore effective 
conflict resolution tactics.
Attachment styleisimportant notonlyinparental andromantic relation -
ships butalsointherelationships between leaders andtheirfollowers. Thetheory is
thatattachment styleisrelevant inleader–follower relationships because leaders or
authority figures canoccupy theroleofacaregiver andbeasource ofsecurity ina
manner similar tothesupport offered byparents andromantic partners. Researchers 
predicted thatleaders withasecure attachment style(neither anxious noravoidant) 
aremore effective thaninsecurely attached (anxious oravoidant) leaders.Final PDF to printer