LE3 .A278 2015

2015

Price, Lisa

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Psychology

Psychology

The relationships between an individual’s (Partner A) caregiving and reflective functioning and his or her romantic partner’s (Partner B) psychological well-being were examined. The caregiving subtypes of proximity, sensitivity, cooperation and compulsive caregiving (Kunce & Shaver, 1994), in addition to reflective function (Fonagy, Steele, Steele, Moran & Higgitt, 1991), had not been previously studied in relation to a partner’s psychological well-being. Sixty-three heterosexual couples were recruited as participants. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to analyze the data. The present study found caregivers’ proximity caregiving and reflective functioning to be positively associated with partners’ psychological well-being, though the relationships did not vary as a function of partners’ attachment. Caregivers’ sensitivity and cooperation caregiving were found to vary as a function of attachment with higher caregiving associated with worse psychological well-being for those partners higher on dismissive attachment. However, for those partners higher on secure attachment, caregivers’ higher cooperation caregiving was found to be associated with the partners’ higher psychological well-being. The present study suggests that caregivers must be cognizant of how their caregiving might benefit or worsen their romantic partners’ psychological well-being depending on the partner’s attachment style. Similarly, caregivers must be mindful of how their reflective functioning relates to the psychological well-being of their partners.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:1265