مطالعه کیفی نقش دلبستگی ناایمن در روابط عاطفی کوتاه‌مدت و ناپایدار

پارسا غفاری; آرزو علیزاده; آریا عزیزی

doi:10.61838/899784

Authors

Parsa Ghaffari Department of Educational Psychology, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran Author
Arezoo Alizadeh Department of General Psychology, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
Arya Azizi Department of Health Psychology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61838/899784

Keywords:

insecure attachment, short-term romantic relationships, unstable relationships, anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, thematic analysis

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the role of insecure attachment in the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of short-term and unstable romantic relationships among young adults in Tehran. This qualitative study was conducted using a thematic analysis approach. Participants included 22 women and men aged 21 to 35 years living in Tehran who had experienced at least two short-term or unstable romantic relationships during the previous three years. Purposeful sampling was used with attention to variation in gender, age, educational level, and employment status, and recruitment continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews. Each interview lasted between 45 and 75 minutes, was audio-recorded with informed consent, and was transcribed verbatim. Data analysis followed the six-phase thematic analysis procedure and was supported by NVivo software. Analysis of the interviews led to the identification of five main categories: “abandonment anxiety and constant need for reassurance,” “avoidance of intimacy and relationship termination at the threshold of closeness,” “reenactment of insecure relational patterns,” “communicative ambiguity and intensified insecurity in digital spaces,” and “inability to repair conflict and transformation of tension into breakup.” Participants with anxious attachment tendencies often experienced short-term relationships through heightened sensitivity to rejection cues, threatening interpretations of silence, and repeated need for validation. In contrast, participants with avoidant attachment tendencies perceived emotional intimacy as a threat to psychological autonomy and frequently reduced the pressure of closeness through withdrawal, emotional coldness, or sudden termination of the relationship. The findings indicated that insecure attachment weakens romantic relationship quality and contributes to relational instability through abandonment fears, intimacy avoidance, repeated selection of unstable partners, and deficient reparative communication. These findings highlight the clinical importance of addressing attachment patterns in premarital counseling, couple therapy, and individual interventions focused on romantic relationships.

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