Attachment, support-seeking, and communication channels in long-distance relationships

Abstract

Supportive romantic relationships hold many benefits for individual and relational wellbeing, yet most research on support processes focuses on face-to-face supportive interactions. As long-distance relationships (LDRs) become increasingly common, it is important to understand how couples seek and provide support when physical proximity is limited and communication relies on technology. Drawing on attachment theory and the thriving through relationships, this thesis examines how individuals in LDRs seek support using computer-mediated communication, the outcomes associated with support-seeking, and how attachment shapes these processes and their outcomes. I begin by developing and validating a tool to assess romantic support-seeking (Manuscript 1), which captures four distinct support-seeking strategies: direct emotional, direct instrumental, indirect, and no-support-wanted. Manuscript 2 extends this work through a Hindi translation and validation of the RoSS, enabling cross-cultural research. Manuscript 3 compares support-seeking in LDRs and GCRs using both cross-sectional and dyadic daily diary designs. Individuals in LDRs engaged in more support-seeking of all types and across all channels, and the combination of support-seeking type and communication channel – rather than the channel alone - predicted relational and wellbeing outcomes. Manuscript 4 integrates attachment theory, demonstrating that attachment avoidance is associated with reduced support-seeking across all channels, whereas attachment anxiety predicts greater use of direct emotional and indirect strategies. Together, these studies advance understanding of how romantic partners seek support in the absence of physical proximity. This thesis shows that support-seeking tendencies are amplified in LDRs, which depend on technology – yet, no specific channel is consistently associated with individual or relational outcomes. Results show that attachment shapes both the form and outcomes associated with support-seeking. This thesis offers extends previous work on support-seeking into the novel context of LDRs and highlights how the type of support-seeking, communication channel, and individual differences in attachment combine to predict individual and relational wellbeing.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Rhia Perks: orcid.org/0000-0002-4447-158X

ORCID for Kathy Carnelley: orcid.org/0000-0003-4064-8576

ORCID for Claire Hart: orcid.org/0000-0003-2175-2474

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