The mediating role of responsibility attributions for partner behaviors in the relationship between attachment, relationship satisfaction, and adult break-up anxiety

This study investigates how attachment dimensions (attachment anxiety and avoidance) affect relationship satisfaction and adult break-up anxiety and the mediating role of attributions of responsibility for negative partner behaviors in these relationships. The study included 447 participants from Turkey. Data were collected using an online survey and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings showed that attachment anxiety was highly and positively related to attributions of responsibility for negative partner behaviors, but attachment avoidance was not significantly related to these attributions. Furthermore, responsibility attributions for negative partner behaviors were found to be strongly and negatively related to relationship satisfaction. Attachment anxiety was found to have a negative effect on relationship satisfaction and attributions of responsibility for negative partner behaviors partially mediated this effect. However, no significant relationship was found that attributions of responsibility had a mediating effect on the relationship between avoidance and relationship satisfaction. Although attachment anxiety had a strong and positive relationship with adult break-up anxiety, responsibility attributions did not show a significant mediating effect in this relationship. The findings suggest that those who score high on attachment anxiety experience more break-up anxiety in their romantic relationships, which may be related to a general sense of insecurity. The findings are discussed together with contributions to the literature and practice and suggestions for future studies.