Anxietyis a common mental health issue linked to romantic relationships. People with insecure attachment styles (fearful or distant) tend to have more anxiety.
Mindfulness, the ability to focus on the present moment without judgment, might be a way to help. This study explores how mindfulness in romantic couples can influence anxiety linked to attachment styles.
Key Points
Rationale
Prior research consistently links adult insecure attachment orientations and anxiety symptoms (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2012).
In the context of contemporary frameworks on romantic relationships and health, Pietromonaco and Collins (2017) and Slatcher and Schoebi (2017) suggest that the link between relationship processes (e.g., attachment anxiety and strategies) and well-being outcomes can be explained through intrapersonal processes.
They argue that intrapersonal processes, which include a tendency to be open, attune, and objectively appraise interactions with a romantic partner, facilitate a sense of connection and comfort that can attenuate negative affect.
Thus, trait mindfulness, conceptualized as a similar intrapersonal process, may provide a clinically relevant mechanism for addressing how attachment anxiety and avoidance relate to anxiety symptoms.
People with higher levels ofattachment anxietyorattachment avoidancewho have a lower ability to pay nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experiences may have higher levels of anxiety symptoms. This is because lower mindfulness is associated with higher anxiety symptoms (Tomlinson et al., 2018)
While research has consistently shown that mindfulness serves as an important mediator between insecure attachment orientations (attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and anxiety symptoms, there is a lack of research examining this mediating role of trait mindfulness within the context of romantic relationships.
Method
This was across-sectionalsurvey study. Couples completed an online survey separately from their partner.
Sample: Participants were 219 heterosexual couples (438 individuals) who had been together for at least 1 year.
The average age was 39 for males and 36 for females. The majority were White/Caucasian, married, and together, an average of 11 years.
Measures: The 12-item Experiences in Close Relationships-Short Form (ECR-S) measured attachment anxiety and avoidance.
All measures demonstrated adequate reliability.
Statistical Analysis: The Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM) was used to test the hypotheses while accounting for the non-independence between romantic partners.
This model estimates actor effects (associations within a person) and partner effects (associations between partners). Significance of indirect effects was tested using bootstrapping with 5000 samples.
Results
Significant indirect effects supported three mediational pathways
Insight
This study shows that trait mindfulness helps explain how insecure attachment relates to anxiety not just within a person, but also between romantic partners.
This research highlights how intrapersonal vulnerabilities and cognitive processes in one partner can interpersonally influence the other partner’s emotional health. Mindfulness is not just an individual resource but also a protective factor in romantic relationships.
An anxiously attached male’s excessive need for closeness seems to interfere with his female partner’s ability to be mindfully aware, which then contributes to her anxiety.
They suggest a person’s mental health is tied to their partner’s relational patterns and cognitive traits.
However, the cross-sectional nature of this study precludes strong causal claims. Attachment security and mindfulness likely have bidirectional influences.
While increasing trait mindfulness may ameliorate the effects of attachment insecurity, attachment security likely also supports mindful awareness.
Future studies should examine these associations longitudinally and test if increasing mindfulness in one or both partners buffers the effects of insecure attachment on anxiety.
Research on same-sex couples is also needed. Observational measures of attachment behaviors and partner mindfulness would strengthen the findings.
Strengths
Limitations
Clinical Implications
Clinically, the findings suggest attachment-based couple therapies for anxiety should assess and target both partners’ mindfulness.
Increasing mindful awareness, especially in female partners, may buffer the effects of a male’s attachment anxiety on the female’s anxiety symptoms.
Insecure attachment (anxiety and avoidance) is often rooted in primary emotions like loneliness, shame, or fear, which can transform into secondary emotions such as uneasiness, irritability, or worry.
Attachment-based treatments help individuals access, accept, and soothe these painful underlying emotions.
Mindfulness practices enable people to engage with difficult feelings openly and non-reactively, promoting emotional skillfulness and flexibility.
This can help insecurely attached individuals bemore acceptingand less reactive to their attachment fears, potentially reducing anxiety symptoms.
References
Primary reference
Jaurequi, M. E., Kimmes, J. G., Seibert, G. S., Ledermann, T., & Roberts, K. (2023). The role of mindfulness between adult attachment and anxiety: A dyadic approach.Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 12(3), 132–145.https://doi.org/10.1037/cfp0000197
Other references
Jaurequi, M. E., Kimmes, J. G., Seibert, G. S., Ledermann, T., & Roberts, K. (2021). The role of mindfulness between adult attachment and anxiety: A dyadic approach. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice. Advance online publication.https://doi.org/10.1037/cfp0000197
Macaulay, C. B., Watt, M. C., MacLean, K., & Weaver, A. (2015). Mindfulness mediates associations between attachment and anxiety sensitivity.Mindfulness, 6(6), 1263–1270.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0390-y
Martin, D., Gillath, O., Deboeck, P., Lang, K., & Kerr, B. (2017). Changes in attachment security and mindfulness as predictors of changes in depression and general anxiety.Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 36(9), 769–797.https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2017.36.9.769
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2012). An attachment perspective on psychopathology.World Psychiatry, 11(1), 11–15.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wpsyc.2012.01.003
Pietromonaco, P. R., & Collins, N. L. (2017). Interpersonal mechanisms linking close relationships to health.American Psychologist, 72(6), 531–542.https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000129
Slatcher, R. B., & Schoebi, D. (2017). Protective processes underlying the links between marital quality and physical health.Current Opinion in Psychology, 13, 148–152.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.09.002
Tomlinson, E. R., Yousaf, O., Vittersø, A. D., & Jones, L. (2018). Dispositional mindfulness andpsychological health: A systematic review.Mindfulness, 9(1), 23–43.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0762-6
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Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
