Attachment styles, alexithymia, and fear of intimacy are considered to be detrimental to degree of satisfaction within the couples relationships. The present study aimed to investigate the moderating role of attachment styles on the relationship of alexithymia and fear of intimacy with marital satisfaction in a sample of Iranian students. Participants (313 males, 375 females) filled the Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI), the Farsi version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (FTAS-20), Fear of Intimacy Scale (FIS), and the Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State Questionnaire (GRIMS). Secure attachment style showed a significant positive association with marital satisfaction, while insecure attachment styles as well as fear of intimacy and alexithymia showed significant negative associations with marital satisfaction. The relationship between fear of intimacy and marital satisfaction was moderated by secure and avoidant attachment styles. The results revealed that only avoidant attachment style could moderate the relationship between alexithymia and marital satisfaction. Results of the present study suggest that the relationship of alexithymia and fear of intimacy with marital satisfaction is not a simple linear one. This is moderated in part by attachment styles. Hence, secure and insecure attachment characteristics may have significant influence in marital relationship in opposite directions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.