Touch me just enough: The intersection of adult attachment, intimate touch, and marital satisfaction

Abstract

Nonsexual physical affection plays an important role in marital functioning, but not all individuals are satisfied with the intimate touch they receive from their partner. Differences in adult attachment tendencies may be one way to understand the individual differences in touch satisfaction. Using a sample of 180 different-sex married couples, we explored how attachment associates with touch satisfaction in marriage in a cross-sectional investigation. Consistent with predictions, we found that husbands with greater attachment anxiety were less satisfied with touch, except when engagement in routine affection was relatively high, but especially when low. Lower routine affection diminished touch satisfaction regardless of attachment style, but greater avoidance appeared to buffer this effect for wives. However, wives with greater avoidance had husbands who reported lower touch satisfaction. We also explored the interplay of touch satisfaction and marital quality, finding that they associated positively, even when routine affection is statistically controlled. Lastly, our exploratory analyses suggest that touch satisfaction may serve as a mediating link between anxiety and marital quality. Overall, our findings support that attachment insecurities associate with engagement in and satisfaction with touch and that these processes are relevant to the overall marital quality.

Affectionate touch in satisfying and dissatisfying romantic relationships

“…Theoretically, these results support Jakubiak and Feeney’s (2017) proposition that affectionate touch’s consequences vary based on the relational context. However, findings show that affectionate touch is consistently beneficial for people in satisfying and distressed relationship; it is the degree of touch’s benefit that varies (see also Wagner et al, 2020). Practically then, these findings suggest the potential for affectionate touch to be used as an intervention to prevent declines in relationship satisfaction and to repair dissatisfaction (e.g., Bradbury & Bodenmann, 2021).…”

Feeling the Absence of Touch: Distancing, Distress, Regulation, and Relationships in the Context of COVID-19

“…These results are consistent with the interpersonal process model of intimacy outlined by Reis and Shaver (1988) and with affection exchange theory (Floyd, 2006). The underlying processes are likely to be bi- or multidirectional, in that couples with satisfying relationships are more likely to exchange affectionate touch and vice-versa (e.g., Wagner et al, 2020). These findings add to previous evidence regarding the ability of touch to enhance relationship satisfaction, even amidst a devastating pandemic with potential repercussions in all aspects of life.…”

“…Affectionate touch is a way of enacting intimacy, which is crucial for relationship quality (Jolink et al, 2021; Reis & Shaver, 1988). Many findings spanning cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental studies show consistent associations between higher levels of physical affection and positive evaluations of romantic relationships (Jakubiak & Feeney, 2017; see also Carmichael et al, 2021; Fisher et al, 2015; Van Raalte et al, 2021; Wagner et al, 2020). As summarized in Jakubiak and Feeney’s review and theoretical model (2017), when touch is interpreted as affectionate, it has relationship-enhancing effects.…”

Hearing, touching, and multisensory integration during mate choice

“…Whereas touching the arms and hands is considered mostly neutral, touching other parts of the body can mean and be perceived in several different ways, that are context-dependent and can range from positive (Willis and Briggs, 1992 ; Suvilehto et al, 2015 ) to highly unpleasant and intrusive (Lee and Guerrero, 2001 ). While a causal role of social touch for short-term partner choice might be questionable (Herz and Cahill, 1997 ), it gets clear that the quality of affective touch is tightly linked to relationship satisfaction in adult romantic couples (Gulledge et al, 2003 ; Hertenstein et al, 2006 ; Wagner et al, 2020 ) and, therefore, might be an important factor for long-term mate choice.…”