Adult romantic attachment and relational correlates in mothers and parental dyads raising young children: Validation, short form development and applications of the Hungarian ECR-R
Dupont Kinga Krisztina
Mental Health Sciences Division
Dr. Bódizs Róbert
SE Elméleti Orvostudományi Központ, Beznák Aladár terem
2026-05-28 09:00:00
Interdiszciplináris társadalomtudományok
Dr. Pethesné Dávid Beáta
Dr. Danis Ildikó
Dr. Szigeti F. Judit
Hank Jen Conradi, PhD
Dr. Kovács József
Dr. Papp Zsuzsanna Katalin
Dr. Miklósi Mónika Barbara
The ECR-R-HU was validated on a representative community sample and demonstrated solid psychometric properties. Its brief version, the ECR-R-HU-SF, was developed on the same representative sample and tested in an independent, large sample of mothers raising young children; the short form showed comparably strong reliability and validity.
Based on the 75th percentile risk thresholds of the ECR-R-HU-SF subscales (Avoidance and Anxiety), mothers were grouped into four attachment risk groups (Secure, Avoidant, Anxious, Disorganized). Secure mothers exhibited the best outcomes in relational functioning: e.g., the highest overall relationship quality, and constructive conflict, and the lowest levels of relational instability, attacking conflict behavior and escalation to physical violence. Disorganized mothers (high scores on both subscales) distinctly formed the highest risk constellation with the poorest outcomes across all indices. Mothers in Avoidant and Anxious groups showed intermediate-risk.
A theory-driven SEM linked mothers’ attachment dimensions to relationship instability primarily indirectly via conflict resolution styles and relationship quality. This novel comprehensive model of relational functioning is consistent with, and extends the Attachment Diathesis-Stress Process Model.
In the parental dyadic subsample, attachment pairing clusters were derived from continuous ECR-R-HU-SF subscale scores. Secure-secure pairings were most prevalent (50%), consistent with the adaptiveness of security and certain partner preference hypotheses (similarity, security hypothesis). Attachment pairings were differentiated by relational functioning, conflict resolution styles, relationship stability, but not by conflict frequency and avoidant conflict resolution. Consistent with expectations, mothers and fathers in secure-secure pairings showed the best relational functioning, the lowest levels of relationship instability, high levels of constructive conflict and the lowest levels of destructive conflict resolution. Mothers and fathers in disorganized-disorganized attachment pairings (10%) constituted the highest risk constellation, while mothers and fathers in avoidant-avoidant pairings were relatively stable. Security showed selective buffering effects in secure-insecure constellations for both mothers and fathers. Finally, mother-father reports largely converged, with very few discrepancies suggesting that self-reports from either partner provide a reasonably reliable picture of couple functioning.
