The Association Between Victims’ Anxious Attachment and Transgressors’ Nonapology on Conflict Resolution in Romantic Relationships

Relational transgressions are inevitable in romantic relationships. When a partner transgresses against the other partner, a victim's response may be motivated by their attachment style and their partner's post-transgression responses. In the current research, we tested whether victims higher in attachment anxiety would use more destructive responses, and whether this effect differed by romantic partners' nonapologetic response (e.g. lashing out). We also tested whether these associations were accounted for by lower perceived partner availability and responsiveness. Across three studies using correlational and experimental methods, victims high in attachment anxiety reported more destructive responses when they perceived their offending partner as nonapologetic. Study 3 findings showed that this moderated association was not accounted for by lower perceived partner availability and responsiveness. However, Study 3 shows a negative association between victims' attachment anxiety and their perceptions of their partner's availability and responsiveness when their partner does not respond, compared to when their partner responds nonapologetically, which may explain their destructive responses. These findings suggest that offending partners' responses play a role in motivating anxiously attached victims' responses.