The Evaluation of the Relationships Between Marital Adjustment, Attachment Styles, Temperament and Character Features 2

SUMMARY Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between marital adjustment and demographics, attachment styles, temperament, and character profiles of the couples. Method: The study group included 25 couples that presented to a psychiatry clinic with marital problems and 25 couples without marital problems and those who were not diagnosed with any psychiatric disorder as the control group. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Axis-II Personality Disorders, Temperament and Character Inventory, Birtchnell Marital Partner Evaluation Scale, and Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory were used. Sociodemographic and some marital characteristics were recorded on a separate form. Results: It was found that the men and women in the study group thought of each other as less reliable than the controls. Men were more detached and controlled by women and women were more dependent on men. Attachment styles of women in the study group were avoidant and anxious while men had higher scores in the avoidance dimension. In the study group, women received higher scores for harm avoidance, sentimentality, congruent second nature and lower scores for empathy subscales, while men received lower scores for attachment, self-forgetfulness, self-transcendence and higher scores for congruent second nature. Overall, 48% of the women in the study group were found to have depression. Discussion: We found that men and women couples with marital problems were different from controls in the way they evaluated each other, and these differences were related to temperament, character and attachment patterns.