TY - JOUR
T1 - You haven’t been on my mind lately
T2 - Partner responsiveness mediates the link between attachment insecurity and sexual fantasies
AU - Mizrahi, Moran
AU - Kanat-Maymon, Yaniv
AU - Birnbaum, Gurit E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, © The Author(s) 2018.
PY - 2018/5/1
Y1 - 2018/5/1
N2 - Sexual desire between romantic partners tends to decrease over time. A decrease in frequency of dyadic fantasies and an increase in frequency of extradyadic fantasies are typical manifestations of this process. The present diary study adopted an attachment-theoretical perspective to better understand why some people are less likely to fantasize about their partners. Both members of 100 romantic couples completed measures of relationship-specific insecurities, partner responsiveness, and frequency of sexual fantasies every evening for 42 days. Results showed that attachment insecurities were associated with lower frequency of dyadic fantasies. Partner responsiveness mediated these associations, such that attachment insecurities were associated with perceiving partners as less responsive, which, in turn, predicted lower frequency of dyadic fantasies. Men’s avoidance predicted higher frequency of extradyadic fantasies. These findings demonstrated the role of responsiveness in sustaining desire, suggesting that attachment insecurities bias people to perceive their partner as less responsive, thereby hampering sexual desire.
AB - Sexual desire between romantic partners tends to decrease over time. A decrease in frequency of dyadic fantasies and an increase in frequency of extradyadic fantasies are typical manifestations of this process. The present diary study adopted an attachment-theoretical perspective to better understand why some people are less likely to fantasize about their partners. Both members of 100 romantic couples completed measures of relationship-specific insecurities, partner responsiveness, and frequency of sexual fantasies every evening for 42 days. Results showed that attachment insecurities were associated with lower frequency of dyadic fantasies. Partner responsiveness mediated these associations, such that attachment insecurities were associated with perceiving partners as less responsive, which, in turn, predicted lower frequency of dyadic fantasies. Men’s avoidance predicted higher frequency of extradyadic fantasies. These findings demonstrated the role of responsiveness in sustaining desire, suggesting that attachment insecurities bias people to perceive their partner as less responsive, thereby hampering sexual desire.
KW - Attachment
KW - extradyadic
KW - fantasies
KW - responsiveness
KW - sexuality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044414301&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0265407517743083
DO - 10.1177/0265407517743083
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AN - SCOPUS:85044414301
SN - 0265-4075
VL - 35
SP - 440
EP - 459
JO - Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
JF - Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
IS - 4
ER -