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Cited by 133Attachment and Relationship DynamicsStress Responses and CortisolNeuroendocrine regulation and behavior

Attachment avoidance predicts inflammatory responses to marital conflict

Open access
Gouin, Jean-Philippe, Glaser, Ronald, Loving, Timothy J., Malarkey, William B., Stowell, Jeffrey, Houts, Carrie, Kiecolt-Glaser, Janice K.·2009·Brain Behavior and Immunity
DOI 10.1016/j.bbi.2008.09.016PMC PMC2771542
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Abstract

Marital stress has been associated with immune dysregulation, including increased production of interleukin-6 (IL-6). Attachment style, one's expectations about the availability and responsiveness of others in intimate relationships, appears to influence physiological stress reactivity and thus could influence inflammatory responses to marital conflict. Thirty-five couples were invited for two 24-h admissions to a hospital research unit. The first visit included a structured social support interaction, while the second visit comprised the discussion of a marital disagreement. A mixed effect within-subject repeated measure model indicated that attachment avoidance significantly influenced IL-6 production during the conflict visit but not during the social support visit. Individuals with higher attachment avoidance had on average an 11% increase in total IL-6 production during the conflict visit as compared to the social support visit, while individuals with lower attachment avoidance had, on average, a 6% decrease in IL-6 production during the conflict visit as compared to the social support visit. Furthermore, greater attachment avoidance was associated with a higher frequency of negative behaviors and a lower frequency of positive behaviors during the marital interaction, providing a mechanism by which attachment avoidance may influence inflammatory responses to marital conflict. In sum, these results suggest that attachment avoidance modulates marital behavior and stress-induced immune dysregulation.

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  • Avoidant individuals showed higher autonomic nervous system activity and poor immune function.

    “Furthermore, avoidant individuals showed higher autonomic nervous system activity and poor immune function [68].”

    From Exploring the Association between Attachment Style, Psychological Well-Being, and Relationship Status in Young Adults and Adults—A Cross-Sectional Study (2023) · cites this paper as [68]

    The Introduction reports greater cardiovascular and skin-conductance reactivity to stressors among people with higher attachment avoidance, and lower natural killer cell cytotoxicity in a study of healthy women. These findings support the general direction of the claim, but not unqualified higher autonomic activity or broadly poor immune function; the paper’s own finding was a larger IL-6 response specifically to marital conflict (Discussion). (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Crittenden PM DCST 1994 Peering into the black box: An exploratory treatise on the development of self in young children The Self and Its Disorders University of Rochester Press Rochester, NY 79 148
  2. Knox D 1971 Marriage happiness Research Press Champaign, IL

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Authors
Gouin, J.-P., Glaser, R., Loving, T. J., Malarkey, W. B., Stowell, J., Houts, C., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K.
Affiliations
  • The Ohio State University (US)
  • The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (US)
  • The University of Texas at Austin (US)
  • Eastern Illinois University (US)
Corresponding author
Gouin, Jean-Philippe
ORCID
Venue
Brain Behavior and Immunity
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2009-10
Volume
23
Issue
7
Pages
898-904
ISSN
0889-1591 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.bbi.2008.09.016
PMC
PMC2771542
OpenAlex
W2118951529
Cited by
133
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 10
FWCI
3.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Brain Behavior and Immunity (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (AG 16321, P01AG016321, R21AG025732)
  • National Cancer Institute (CA16058, P30CA016058)
  • National Center for Research Resources (UL1RR025755, MO1 RR0034, M01RR000034)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
Keywords
attachment avoidance, marital conflict, interleukin-6, inflammation, marital stress, immune dysregulation, attachment styles, social support, stress reactivity
MeSH terms
Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Marriage, Object Attachment, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Support, Stress, Psychological, Interleukin-6, Spouses, Family Conflict

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