Attachment security and marital satisfaction: The role of positive perceptions and social support

The authors examined how positive Perceptions about Partners' attachment se curity predicted supportive behavior and satisfaction in newlywed marriage. The authors tested a mediation model in which positive perceptions were as sociated with adaptive support behavior, which in turn predicted increases in marital satisfaction. The self-report measures of attachment security, P erceptions of partner's attachment security, and marital satisfaction withi n 6 months of marriage and again 1 year later were completed by 172 couples . Social support behavior was assessed by videotaped interactions at the in itial session. Structural equation models indicated that positive perceptio ns served a relationship-enhancing function that was enacted, in part, thro ugh couples' supportive interactions.