Husbands' and wives' attachment orientations and depressive symptoms: Predictors of positive and negative conflict behaviors in the marriage

The present study examined both husbands' and wives' attachment orientations and depressive symptoms in predicting reports of marital conflict behaviors. Married couples (N = 60) completed questionnaires to assess their attachment orientations, depressive symptoms, and perceptions of positive and negative conflict behaviors in the marital relationship. Using hierarchical regression analyses, statistical models were tested wherein husbands' and wives' reports of marital conflict behaviors were regressed on their own and their spouses' attachment orientations and depressive symptoms. The results suggest that both attachment orientations and depressive symptoms were important predictors of reported marital conflict behaviors. However, different predictors were found for husbands' and wives' reports of positive and negative conflict behaviors. In general, spouses' attributes played only a small role in predicting reports of marital conflict behaviors.