Mallory Heitfeld | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Mallory Hatfield
Title: The Effects of Interparental Conflict and Attachment Style on Authenticity in Romantic Relationships
Major: Psychology
Advisors: Amber Garcia; Dan Scheibe

Through classes at Wooster, I studied childhood development and decided to incorporate that knowledge into my I.S. project. From there, I developed my project with the help of my advisor. Childhood experiences of interparental conflict can affect the development of attachment styles,
which can later affect adult romantic relationships (Fraley & Heffernan, 2013). The current study
examines the relationship between perceived interparental conflict and adult attachment styles, as
well as interparental conflict, attachment styles, and authenticity in romantic relationships. I
predicted that high levels of interparental conflict would be associated with insecure attachment
styles. I also predicted that participants who had high levels of interparental conflict and insecure
attachment styles would have low levels of authenticity in romantic relationships. My
study included participants (n = 101) recruited through CloudResearch. Each participant
completed measures of interparental conflict, attachment styles, and authenticity within romantic
relationships. Results indicate no significant relationship between levels of interparental conflict
and attachment style. However, there was a significant relationship between high levels of
interparental conflict, insecure attachment styles, and low levels of authenticity within romantic
relationships.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.