The Relationship between Attachment Styles and Conflict Resolution Techniques among Married Women

The aim of the present study is to look into the relationship between attachment styles and conflict resolution techniques among married women. The research was conducted on the basis of the correlational type of descriptive method and the population included all the married female students of the state universities in Tehran. From among these universities, three universities, i.e. Tehran University, Shahid Beheshti University and Al-Zahra University, were selected through simple random sampling and from each university, an equal number of students was selected from the four departments of engineering, humanities, fundamental sciences and art by convenience sampling. The sample included 210 married female students and the measurement instruments were the inventory of personal experiences in intimate relationships (which assesses attachment styles, Waller, Fraley and Brennan) and the inventory of conflict resolution techniques (Arker, Dysay and Saltzman). The data was analyzed using correlation coefficient and stepwise regression performed by SPSS software. The results indicate that there is a meaningful relationship between conflict resolution techniques and safe and anxious attachment styles. The relationship between the safe attachment style and the negotiation technique (in the positive direction) and the relationship between the safe attachment style and the psychological violence technique (in the negative direction) were stronger (P<0.01). Also, the anxious attachment style was meaningfully related to the physical attack and psychological violence techniques (in the positive direction) and to the negotiation technique (in the negative direction). The results of the regression analysis also suggest that the safe attachment style is the best predictor of the negotiation and psychological violence techniques. The anxious attachment style cannot explain the negotiation technique.