Self-Models and Relationship Threat

This study investigated a key claim of risk regulation theory,namely, that psychological internalizing of a relationship threat will serve as amediator of the link between self-models (self-esteem and attachment anxiety) andrelationship responses (moving closer to a partner vs. distancing from a partner).Participants (N = 101) received feedback that threatened their current romanticrelationship (or no feedback) and then completed measures of internal–external focus,relationship closeness–distancing, and acceptance–rejection of the feedback. Resultsshowed that participants with negative self-models responded to the relationship threatby becoming more internally focused and by distancing from their partners, whereas thosewith positive self-models became more externally focused and moved closer to theirpartners. Mediation analyses indicated that the link between self-models andrelationship closeness–distancing was partially explained by internal focus