Attachment, investment, and relationship commitment in young and midlife adults

Middle-aged individuals represent the largest demographic that seek divorce in Australia. Therefore, understanding the factors that underpin relationship commitment for midlife couples is indicated. Research has demonstrated that anxious and avoidant attachment orientations are associated with decreased relationship commitment while investment model research has demonstrated that commitment is predicted by perceived relationship investment. To date, such research has focused on young adults and those findings may not generalize to midlife adults. This study examined attachment orientation, relationship investment, and relationship commitment in samples of young (N=207) and midlife adults (N=192). Moderated-mediation analyses revealed differences in the patterns of associations between the life stages. Overall, insecure attachment played a minimal role in commitment amongst young adults, and investment played no significant role. For midlife adults, investment fully mediated the relationships between avoidance and commitment, as well as anxiety and commitment, indicating that attachment and investment may play a central role in commitment in midlife. Attachment avoidance was also unexpectedly positively associated with investment in midlife. These findings reveal differences in attachment processes between young and midlife adults and highlight the salience of perceived investment in predicting midlife relationship commitment. Implications for therapeutic interventions are discussed.