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Attachment‐related differences in secrecy and rumination in romantic relationships
Author(s) -
MERRILL ANNE F.,
AFIFI TAMARA D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
personal relationships
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.81
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1475-6811
pISSN - 1350-4126
DOI - 10.1111/pere.12078
Subject(s) - rumination , secrecy , psychology , feeling , anxiety , romance , social psychology , perception , cognition , developmental psychology , computer security , psychoanalysis , psychiatry , neuroscience , computer science
The study examined attachment‐related predispositions and patterns of cognition and emotion that contribute to different secret‐keeping experiences. Participants ( n = 380) reported on their secret keeping, rumination, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance via online questionnaires. Results showed that both anxiety and avoidance were positively associated with keeping a secret from a romantic partner, while only avoidance was associated with a greater total number of secrets kept. The association between avoidance and rumination was partially mediated by perceptions of a partner's ownership rights to the secret and guilt for keeping the secret, such that those who were highly avoidant were less likely to perceive a partner's ownership rights. Finally, highly anxious participants reported higher levels of rumination, which were mediated by feelings of guilt for keeping a secret. The study extends research on the link between secrecy and rumination by offering a theoretical account based on attachment for why some people are more likely to ruminate about their secrecy than others.