This study examined the link between insecure attachment and cognitive functioning in 1,043 middle-aged and older romantic couples (M_age = 64.7 years), and tests whether stress acts as a mediator. Participants were asked about their romantic attachment (anxiety and avoidance), cognitive impairment, their and their partner’s dementia symptoms, and were tested on their memory performance. Findings suggest that anxiously attached individuals experience more stress and report worse cognitive functioning, while partners of avoidantly attached individuals experience more stress, report worse cognitive functioning, and show worse memory performance. Post-hoc robustness analyses suggest that relationship satisfaction accounts for the link between avoidance and stress and serves as a mediator. Insecure attachment reflects a potential risk for worse cognitive health in older couples.

本研究调查了 1,043 对中老年浪漫情侣（M_{年龄）的不安全依恋与认知功能之间的联系。} = 64.7 年），并测试压力是否起中介作用。参与者被问及他们的浪漫依恋（焦虑和回避）、认知障碍、他们和他们的伴侣的痴呆症状，并测试他们的记忆力。研究结果表明，焦虑型依恋者承受更多压力，认知功能更差，而回避型依恋者的伴侣承受更多压力，认知功能更差，记忆力更差。事后稳健性分析表明，关系满意度解释了回避和压力之间的联系，并起到了中介作用。不安全的依恋反映了老年夫妇认知健康状况恶化的潜在风险。