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The Role of Attachment Anxiety and Attachment Avoidance on the Psychosocial Well-being of Infertile Couples

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Abstract

This study’s objective was to explore the mediating role of attachment orientation in infertile women and their partners as a mediator of the relationship between need for parenthood and psychosocial well-being. Ninety participants (45 couples) undergoing in vitro fertilization completed self-report questionnaires that assessed representations of the importance of parenthood, attachment orientations, and psychosocial well-being. Path analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect effects. The results indicated that women’s attachment anxiety mediated the effect of need for parenthood on the psychological well-being of themselves and their partner. Although causality cannot be assumed, this study highlights the importance of considering attachment orientations and related strategies of emotion regulation in clinical settings and the need to address the meaning of parenthood for promoting couples’ well-being.

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Acknowledgements

This study was developed within the Relationships, Development & Health Research Group of the R&D Unit Cognitive-Behavioral Center for Research and Intervention (PEst-OE/PSI/UI0730/ 2014). Mariana-Moura Ramos is supported by a postdoctoral grant by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BPD/ 87514/2012).

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Correspondence to M. Moura-Ramos.

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M. Moura-Ramos, T. Almeida Santos, and M. C. Canavarro declare they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Moura-Ramos, M., Santos, T.A. & Canavarro, M.C. The Role of Attachment Anxiety and Attachment Avoidance on the Psychosocial Well-being of Infertile Couples. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 24, 132–143 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-017-9496-9

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