Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
This review explains attachment theory and temperament and how they relate to parenting. It says infants need close, responsive relationships with caregivers. Parents who respond quickly and appropriately tend to raise securely attached children. Secure attachment is linked with more curiosity, self-reliance, and independence in childhood and often with greater…
This study examined 227 married or cohabiting adults who scored below the midpoint on a marital satisfaction measure (putting them at higher risk for depression). Women were more likely than men to report discovering a partner had an affair in the past 12 months. Finding an affair was linked with…
This study looked at people who were left by a partner in the past 6 months (136 people, mean age 30.4). It asked about short-term “dysfunctional” behaviors after a breakup, such as persistent calls or messages, threats, sending unwanted objects, and attempts to defame an ex. People with a secure…
Attachment insecurity affects people’s personal and relationship wellbeing. Research finds that when romantic partners give tailored support—called partner buffering—they can reduce a person’s immediate distress and make them feel more secure for a short time. The benefits are not automatic: they depend on who is helping, how able and motivated…
The researchers interviewed 15 practising psychologists in Australia about “romantic self-sabotage.” They found the term is not well defined in the research and is often treated as the same as self-handicapping. The psychologists said self-sabotage in romantic relationships can include internal behaviours that self-handicapping does not cover. The study identified…
The study used surveys from 314 heterosexual married couples (wives mean age 44.56, SD 13.24; husbands mean age 46.33, SD 13.58). Couples who reported higher-quality, meaningful time together also reported more constructive (positive) conflict and less destructive (negative) conflict. Statistical models that looked at each person and their partner (an…
