Background and objectives

Romantic relationship breakups can lead to severe emotional disturbances including major depression. Anxious attachment and desired attachment with the ex-partner are hypothesized to elicit repetitive thought about the breakup and the former partner and attempts to reunite with (i.e. approach) the ex-partner, which fuel breakup distress. Since prior research on this topic has mostly used survey methodology, the study aim was to examine the relations between above-mentioned variables employing a behavioral measure of approach of the ex-partner.

Methods

Automatic approach-avoidance tendencies toward the former partner were assessed with an Approach Avoidance Task (AAT). Sixty-two students (76% female) moved a manikin towards or away from stimuli pictures (ex-partner, matched stranger, landscape) as fast as possible based on the stimulus frame color (blue, yellow). Participants also completed questionnaires assessing anxious attachment, desired attachment, repetitive thought about the breakup (rumination) and the ex-partner (yearning), and breakup distress (prolonged grief symptoms).

Results

Anxious attachment related positively to rumination and breakup distress. Desired attachment related positively to yearning, automatic approach bias toward the ex-partner, and breakup distress. Both anxious and desired attachment, rumination, yearning, and approach bias related positively to breakup distress.

Limitations

The use of a student sample may limit generalizability. A correlational design precludes causal conclusions.

Conclusions

Together with prior work, results suggests anxious attachment hampers psychological adaptation to a breakup by increasing the use of ruminative coping. Desire to retain an attachment bond with the ex-partner, expressed in yearning and approach of the ex-partner, may also worsen breakup distress.

中文翻译：

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期望的依恋和分手困扰与前伴侣的自动接近有关

背景和目标

恋爱关系破裂会导致严重的情绪障碍，包括重度抑郁症。假设与前伴侣的焦虑依恋和渴望依恋会引发对分手和前伴侣的重复思考，并试图与前伴侣重聚（即接近），这会加剧分手的痛苦。由于先前对该主题的研究主要使用调查方法，因此研究目的是采用前伴侣的行为测量方法来检查上述变量之间的关系。

方法

对前伴侣的自动接近回避倾向通过接近回避任务 (AAT) 进行评估。62 名学生（76% 女性）根据刺激框颜色（蓝色、黄色）尽可能快地将人体模型移向或远离刺激图片（前伴侣、匹配的陌生人、风景）。参与者还完成了评估焦虑依恋、期望依恋、对分手（反刍）和前伴侣（渴望）的重复思考以及分手痛苦（长期悲伤症状）的问卷调查。

结果

焦虑依恋与沉思和分手痛苦呈正相关。渴望的依恋与渴望、对前伴侣的自动接近偏见和分手痛苦呈正相关。焦虑和渴望的依恋、沉思、渴望和接近偏见都与分手痛苦呈正相关。

限制

学生样本的使用可能会限制普遍性。相关设计排除了因果结论。

结论

与之前的研究一起，结果表明焦虑依恋通过增加反刍应对的使用来阻碍心理适应分手。与前伴侣保持依恋关系的愿望，表现在前伴侣的渴望和接近中，也可能加剧分手痛苦。