1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The aim of this study was to explore whether attachment insecurity would be associated with sexual satisfaction during pregnancy through intimacy and couple support in both partners.» (p. 3)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«The first hypothesis was that attachment insecurity (anxiety and avoidance) would be related to lower levels of intimacy, couple support, and sexual satisfaction in both members of the couple. The second hypothesis was that a higher perception of intimacy and couple support in couples would be associated with greater sexual satisfaction in both partners. The third hypothesis was that an indirect association between attachment insecurity and sexual satisfaction would emerge via the intervening variables of intimacy and couple support.» (p. 3)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The present study was part of a larger ongoing longitudinal study on the transition to parenthood, which includes four assessment points (second trimester of pregnancy to 12 months postpartum). Only the data collected at the first assessment point was used for the present study, targeting couples’ experience during pregnancy. The sample included 127 French-Canadian first time pregnant couples from the general population. […] Women were aged 18 to 39 years (M = 27.65, SD = 3.93) and men were aged 20 to 41 years (M = 29.35, SD = 4.36).» (p. 3)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Results revealed that greater attachment avoidance in pregnant women and their partners were related to their own sexual dissatisfaction (actor effects) through their own perception of low intimacy and couple support, supporting hypothesis 2 (H2) and partially supporting hypothesis 3 (H3). In addition, greater attachment avoidance in men was related to their pregnant partners’ sexual dissatisfaction through the pregnant women’s perception of low intimacy and couple support (partner effect). Contrary to hypothesis 1 (H1), no direct associations were found between future parents’ sexual satisfaction and attachment anxiety or avoidance, above and beyond these indirect associations. Results for H1 differed from those of past studies that have established a direct association between attachment insecurity and sexual satisfaction. However, these previous studies included couples from the community […], clinically distressed couples […] and couples undergoing fertility treatments […] rather than future parents. Thus, it is possible that pregnancy as a time of family planning as well as the physical symptoms and bodily changes experienced by pregnant women during the second trimester contributed to the lack of replication of a direct association between attachment insecurity and sexual well-being during this period; attachment avoidance seemed to be associated to sexual well-being through more proximal factors, such as intimacy and couple support.» (p. 5-6)