Destructive attachment in heterosexual adults' relationships: stress and coping aspects

Abstract

The paper presents the results of empirical research of the phenomenon of destructive attachment in a relationship between a man and a woman in adulthood. The sample includes 165 men and women (middle age – 32 years old), among them – 82 (48 women and 34 men) were the subjects of a destructive attachment; and 83 (43 women and 40 men) formed a control group. With the help of phenomenological interviews, multi-measurement questionnaire romantic attachment in adults (MIMARA) the high stressful ambivalence and the destructive manifestations of affection are obtained and described. The individual and dyadic coping strategies are analyzed with the help of an interview and Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ). Results of research subjects’ destructive coping attachment, a comparative analysis with similar results in the control group, characterize it as unproductive. The stressful experiences frequency of destructive attachment, low level of their awareness and refusal to break / to end unsatisfying relationships are considered as non-coping features of destructive attachment subjects.