Affectionate touch is crucial for well-being. However, attachment avoidance is associated with negative attitudes toward touch. We tested two preregistered hypotheses about how attachment avoidance influences the association between touch in romantic couples and psychological well-being. We examined whether greater attachment avoidance is associated with a reduced link between touch and well-being, and/or whether reduced touch mediates the relationship between attachment avoidance and lower well-being. Across three studies, including two dyadic ones, we measured retrospective self-reports (Studies 1 and 2), laboratory observations (Study 2), and daily experiences (Study 3) of touch. Touch and well-being were positively associated, and attachment avoidance was associated with lower well-being and less frequent touch. Touch was associated with greater well-being regardless of level of attachment avoidance, and less frequent touch mediated the negative association between attachment avoidance and well-being in most analyses. This underscores the importance of touch, even for those valuing distance and autonomy.

深情的触摸对幸福至关重要。然而，依恋回避与对触摸的消极态度有关。我们测试了关于依恋回避如何影响浪漫情侣的触摸与心理健康之间的关联的两个预先注册的假设。我们研究了更大的依恋回避是否与触觉和幸福感之间的联系减少有关，和/或减少的触摸是否介导了依恋回避和较低幸福感之间的关系。在三项研究中，包括两项二元研究，我们测量了回顾性自我报告（研究 1 和 2）、实验室观察（研究 2）和日常触摸体验（研究 3）。触觉和幸福感呈正相关，依恋回避与幸福感较低和接触频率较低有关。无论依恋回避的水平如何，触摸都与更高的幸福感相关，并且在大多数分析中，较少的触摸介导了依恋回避与幸福感之间的负相关。这强调了触摸的重要性，即使对于那些重视距离和自主性的人也是如此。