Prove Me Wrong: The Impacts of Anxious Attachment and Non-Apology on Conflict Resolution in Romantic Relationships

Managing conflict is an integral aspect of romantic relationships. When a romantic partner transgresses against the other partner, the way the victim of the transgression responds to conflict is often motivated by their attachment style and the post-transgression responses (PTRs) of their romantic partner. The present research involved 238 participants in romantic relationships. Participants completed an online study to assess the association between a victim's anxious attachment and destructive PTR (i.e., grudge-disdain, avoidance, and low forgiveness), the moderating role of a victim’s perception of their offending partner’s nonapology, and the mediating explanation of a victim’s perceived availability and responsiveness of an offending partner. A moderated mediation model was hypothesized and tested. Results confirmed that a victim’s perception of their offending partner’s nonapology moderated the association between victims’ anxious attachment and destructive PTRs. Perceived availability and responsiveness did not mediate the moderated association. Overall, these finds suggest that offending partners' PTRs play a role in motivating the post-transgression responses of anxiously attached victims.