Annual of social work, Vol. 16 No. 3, 2009.
Original scientific paper
DIFFERENCES IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP OF STUDENTS WITH SECURE AND INSECURE ATTACHMENT STYLES
Slavica Blažeka Kokorić
orcid.org/0000-0002-3846-8384
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Department of social work, Zagreb, Croatia
Martina Gabrić
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Department of social work, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The article presents a theoretical overview of the importance of attachment in love relationships in the adult age as well as research results on the differences in love experience of students with secure and insecure attachment styles in close/romantic relationships. The data were gathered within a larger research project on intergenerational transfer of relationship characteristics. The research participants were 564 final year students (265 male and 299 female) of twelve different faculties in Zagreb. To questionnaires were anonymously administered to the participants: the Partner Relationship Experience Questionnaire and the Adult Attachment Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, chi-quadrate test and ANOVA. The results show that students with secure attachment style are significantly more likely to participate in romantic relationships than those with insecure attachment style and their relationships are more stable. They are satisfied with the way they solve conflicts in their relationships and their relationship experience is generally more positive. On the other hand, as far as the assessment of satisfaction with their present relationship and the assessment of the future of that relationship are concerned, the significant difference was found only between students with secure and avoiding attachment, but not in students with secure and anxious attachment. In general, the results suggest that the student experience in love relationships significantly differs depending on their dominant attachment style in love relationships, which is in accordance with the hypothesis of this research and research results presented by other authors.
Keywords
attachment styles in the adult age; experiences in students intimate relationships
Hrčak ID:
47815
URI
Publication date:
30.1.2010.
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