Chapter 5 Klein: Object Relations Theory 165attachment styles of people who are pathologically jealous in comparison to those
who are not (Costa, Sophia, Sanches, Tavares, & Zilberman, 2015). Thirty-two
people classified as “pathologically jealous” sought therapy for pathological jeal-
ousy and then were positively diagnosed by the psychiatric staff at the Impulse
Control Disorder Outpatient Clinic in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The comparison group
consisted of 31 people who were matched in age and gender but had no history of
psychiatric disorders.
In addition to completing the Questionnaire of Affective Relationships (QAR)
that assesses whether participants are pathologically jealous or not, participants also
completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Adult Attachment Questionnaire
by Hazan and Shaver, as well as measures of relationship quality, novelty-seeking,
persistence, impulsivity, anxiety, depression, and aggressiveness. Costa and col-
leagues found that those with pathological jealousy had attachment styles that were
less secure, more avoidant, and more anxious-ambivalent than those who were not
pathologically jealous. The jealous participants also were less satisfied in their rela-
tionships, more impulsive, and more likely to seek new and novel experiences.
Another topic of research has been conflict, attachment style, and romantic
relationships. Conflict is an inevitable part of every romantic relationship, and a
great deal of research has been conducted on the ways adult attachment styles
influence how partners react to and behave during conflict. Research shows that,
generally speaking, insecurely attached partners (both anxious-ambivalent and
avoidant) do not cope with conflict as well as their secure counterparts. For exam-
ple, anxious and avoidant partners experience greater autonomic nervous system
reactivity during conflict discussions with their spouses than do securely attached
individuals (Powers, Pietromonaco, Gunlicks, & Sayer, 2006). And partners with
anxious attachment styles tend to escalate the emotional severity of conflicts
(Simpson, Rholes, & Phillips, 1996).
The transition to parenthood is a particularly stressful time for many couples,
and conflict levels tend to rise. Rholes and colleagues (2014) conducted a longitudinal
study of the ways the attachment styles of new mothers and fathers played a role in
their experience of conflict during this specific moment in time. Couples who were
expecting their first child were recruited during childbirth classes, and they completed
self-report and perception-of-partner measures of conflict approaches, attachment
style, and relationship satisfaction five different times, from approximately 6 weeks
before their expected due date, through 24 months after their child was born.
The results revealed that more anxious and avoidant partners used less effec-
tive conflict resolution styles, such as verbal aggression or “stalemating” as opposed
to collaboration. Furthermore, the insecurely attached individuals perceived more
destructive conflict tactics being directed at them by their partners during this
stressful time. Not surprisingly, most of the partners in the study—both women
and men—reported enacting and receiving fewer helpful and more destructive con-
flict tactics as the transition to parenthood unfolded. The good news is that the
more securely attached individuals in the study showed improvement over time,
adjusting to their status as parents as well as partners, and using fewer ineffective
and more effective conflict resolution tactics.
Attachment style is not only important in parental and romantic relationships,
but also in the relationships between leaders and their followers (military officers and