Attaccamento adulto e matching di coppia

Background: The Adult Attachment Interview is a narrative instrument which, although mainly used in the field of the attachment research, is increasingly used within the clinical settings, thus contributing to the development of an area of peculiar interest such as the connection between the individual attachment and the romantic relationships. Objective: The present work aims to investigate the dimension of reciprocity underlying the matching between two partners, and the characteristics of the couple relationship regarding the representations of their childhood and those concerning the relationship with the partner. Methodology: In order to exemplify the use of the narrative techniques in the clinical practice, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI, Main, Goldwyn e Hesse, 2002) and the Current Relationship Interview (CRI, Crowell e Owens, 1996) were administered to a couple at the beginning of a psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Discussion and conclusion: In the interpretation of this couple’s relationship, the discrepancy between the matching of the two AAI interviews (F2/F4 husband and DS1/DS2 wife) and the matching of the two CRI interviews (S1/D3 husband and P1/P2 wife) suggests the adult attachment construct should be conceived not only in terms of continuity (i.e., according a “prototype” perspective), but also in terms of discontinuity (i.e., according a “dyadic-relational perspective”). In this regard, when the matching is considered vertically – that is, when AAI is compared with CRI for each partner – a secure strategy emerges for the husband (although there is a tendency toward a dismissing attitude). In contrast, the strategy of the wife shifts from dismissing to preoccupied. With respect to the dichotomy of continuity vs. discontinuity (see also the findings of Judith Crowell on the concordance vs. discordance between generalized and specific relationships), a further difference seems to emerge between the two partners. For the husband, the concordance between the secure representations results in a perception of the relationship that is moderately positive and somewhat more realistic, with a relative confidence that the couple will be able to resolve the conflicts. In contrast, the wife is characterized by a concordance between the insecure representations (insecurity with respect to the generalized and specific representations), which is usually associated with a vulnerability of the partners to relationship difficulties. Particularly relevant in these individuals is the discrepancy between the high level of aggressive behaviour and the relative absence of anxiety in the feelings that are expressed towards their relationship. These discrepancy between behaviour and feelings may express a difficulty in understanding the meaning of the attachment experiences. Finally, the matching of the Internal Working Models of the partners doesn’t seem to be explained only through their infant relationships as Freud and Bowlby partly suggested.