Romantic partner presence and physiological responses in daily life: Attachment style as a moderator

Sohyun C Han; Hannah L Schacter; Adela C Timmons; Yehsong Kim; Stassja Sichko; Corey Pettit; Theodora Chaspari; Shrikanth Narayanan; Gayla Margolin

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108082

Romantic partner presence and physiological responses in daily life: Attachment style as a moderator

Biol Psychol. 2021 Apr:161:108082. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108082. Epub 2021 Mar 19.

Authors

Sohyun C Han¹, Hannah L Schacter², Adela C Timmons³, Yehsong Kim⁴, Stassja Sichko⁵, Corey Pettit⁶, Theodora Chaspari⁷, Shrikanth Narayanan⁸, Gayla Margolin⁹

Affiliations

¹ University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, 3620 S. McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA. Electronic address: sohyunha@usc.edu.
² Wayne State University, Department of Psychology, 5057 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA. Electronic address: Hannah.schacter@wayne.edu.
³ Florida International University, Center for Children and Families, 11200 SW 8th St, Miami, FL, 33199, USA. Electronic address: atimmons@fiu.edu.
⁴ University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, 3620 S. McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA. Electronic address: yehsongk@usc.edu.
⁵ University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. Electronic address: ssichko@g.ucla.edu.
⁶ University of Virginia, Department of Psychology, 485 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, USA. Electronic address: cp7ze@virginia.edu.
⁷ Texas A&M University, Computer Science and Engineering, 710 Ross St, College Station, TX, 77843, USA. Electronic address: chaspari@tamu.edu.
⁸ University of Southern California, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 3740 McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA. Electronic address: shri@ee.usc.edu.
⁹ University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, 3620 S. McClintock Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA. Electronic address: margolin@usc.edu.

Abstract

The present study investigated whether the presence of a romantic partner in daily life is associated with attenuated sympathetic nervous system responses. Additionally, romantic attachment style was tested as a moderator. For one day, 106 heterosexual young adult dating couples wore ambulatory sensors that monitored electrodermal activity (EDA) - an index of sympathetic arousal. Couples reported whether they were together or apart for every hour of the data collection day. Men and women exhibited lower EDA during hours in which their partner was present compared to hours in which they were absent. Additionally, romantic attachment style moderated this association; those who had low anxious attachment showed a stronger attenuating effect of partner presence compared to those with higher anxious attachment. Similarly, those who had low avoidant attachment showed heightened effects of partner presence compared to those with higher avoidant attachment. Romantic partner presence may facilitate everyday health-promoting physiological processes.

Keywords: Ambulatory assessment; Attachment style; Partner presence; Romantic relationships; Sympathetic nervous system.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Anxiety
Female
Heterosexuality
Humans
Interpersonal Relations*
Male
Object Attachment*
Sexual Partners
Young Adult

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding