Understanding attachment behaviors and relationship satisfaction among Turkish newly married adults: The roles of intrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation and difficulties in emotion regulation

The transition to marriage is an important life event and a stressor for romantic couples. During the first years of marriage, it is crucial that spouses can regulate their own difficult emotions and those of their partner and be able to approach their partner in times of need for relationship satisfaction and maintenance. This emotional dynamic is closely linked to individuals' attachment orientations, mainly attachment anxiety and avoidance. The current study investigated the relationship between attachment, intrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation (ER), difficulties in ER, and relationship outcomes (relationship satisfaction and attachment behaviors). A cross-sectional design was used with a sample of 376 Turkish newlyweds who were married for one to five years (68.6 % female; Agemean = 30, AgeSD = 3.59). Structural Equation Modeling analysis showed that attachment anxiety was positively associated with difficulties in ER (.42, p < .001) and intrinsic interpersonal ER (.33, p < .001), and negatively associated with relationship satisfaction (-.13, p < .01), but not attachment behaviors. In addition, attachment avoidance was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction (-.73, p < .001), attachment behaviors (-.75, p < .001), and positively associated with difficulties in ER (.18, p = .001). Neither type of ER mediated the relationship between attachment orientations and relationship outcomes. The findings illustrate that high levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance are linked to difficulties in emotion regulation and lower relationship satisfaction. However, their associations differ for intrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation and attachment behaviors. There is a need for further research on intrinsic interpersonal emotional regulation and attachment behaviors in the Turkish context. Keywords: Attachment behaviors, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, difficulties in emotion regulation, interpersonal emotion regulation, newly married couples, relationship satisfaction