Association of COVID-19 Stressors on Relationship Satisfaction Within a Diverse Sample of Couples: The Moderating Role of Attachment

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic introduced unprecedented global stressors that profoundly influenced couple relationships. Guided by attachment theory, this study examined whether secure attachment moderated the association between COVID-19-related stress and relationship satisfaction within a diverse U.S. sample of couples. Data were drawn from the National Couples’ Health and Time Study (NCHAT; N = 3,642 main respondents and 1,515 partners) collected between September 2020 and April 2021. Correlational analyses demonstrated that greater COVID-19-related stress was significantly associated with lower relationship satisfaction (r = –.13, p < .001), whereas secure attachment was strongly and positively associated with relationship satisfaction (r = .72, p < .001). Moderation analysis using PROCESS (Model 1) revealed that COVID-19 stress negatively predicted relationship satisfaction (β = –0.09, p < .001), while secure attachment positively predicted satisfaction (β = .97, p < .001). The interaction between stress and attachment was marginally significant (β = –0.04, p = .05), accounting for a small but significant portion of variance (ΔR² = .001). These findings suggest that although secure attachment is associated with higher relationship satisfaction overall, its buffering effect against pandemic-related stress may be limited. Clinical implications highlight the importance of interventions that simultaneously address stress management and strengthen attachment bonds. Future longitudinal and cross-cultural research should further examine how attachment dynamics interact with stress to influence relationship outcomes.