Emotional development in adulthood requires the ability to make a long-term intimate commitment to your partner, which is connected to the feeling that there is a possibility to become safely attached to that person. A person is only able to do this if they reach emotional autonomy and if they can peacefully leave their primary family (Cvetek 2014, 153).
The doctoral dissertation deals with the issue of persistence and stability of long-term intimate relationships with the intention of maintaining relationships through dedication, safety and approachability to each other. In the theoretical part, the author first outlines the concept of the main topics, which the dissertation touches on, such as commitment, attachment, intimacy and satisfaction. In each part, the author concretely and precisely elaborates the development paths of concepts, definitions of concepts, basic characteristics of concepts, theories and various concepts, key theoretical models and also the main authors who have in the past dealt with these topics and significantly influenced the development of these sciences and frameworks as well as an overview of modern research in particular fields. The main dimensions are presented each of the four main fields, which are also the subject of research. The author sensibly takes the themes of relational connection, reciprocity between partners and stability of the relationship as a common thread running through all four main categories, which marks the main aspect of the whole research, which is the time component in long-term partnerships.
The research part of the dissertation consists of quantitative and qualitative research. In the quantitative part, the author researches which of the included factors (satisfaction, intimacy, attachment, duration of the relationship), are more or less connected to the individual’s level of commitment to their partnership and to what extent it is possible to anticipate the level of commitment to the partner, based on the included factors (satisfaction, intimacy, attachment). Since intimacy is dyadic, which is regulated by both partners, the author focused on the interdependence, the comparison how the individual and the partners experience the relationship. The author checked the degree of connection between the individual’s and partners' achieved values based on the level of commitment, satisfaction, intimacy and attachment. She was interested in the difference between different styles of attachment in the level of commitment, satisfaction, and intimacy in individuals.
The author further wanted to assess which of the included factors (commitment, satisfaction, intimacy and attachment) are more or less related to the duration of the relationship / years and what are the differences in commitment, satisfaction, intimacy and attachment with partners who have children in comparison to partners who do not have them.
The author finds that personal commitment is the aspect that is positively connected with emotional and sexual intimacy, secure attachment and satisfaction. She also determines that partners are coherent in the morality of decisions, in avoidant attachment and in all aspects of satisfaction, and that it is men who rated the morality of divorce and other aspects of personal commitment higher. They also rated conventional intimacy and fear of abandonment, as well as relationship satisfaction on a higher level. Additionally she notes that higher levels of fears or insecure attachments are even more so connected to personal commitment, however not only with it, but also low levels of insecure attachment are associated with emotional, sexual, and social intimacy. When comparing secure and avoidant attachment, she was put forward security in conjunction with personal commitment. The author came up with interesting results about the duration of relationships and the presence of children. The duration of the relationships was connected to emotional intimacy, devotion (the dimension of satisfaction) and to a greater level of difficulty to end a relationship and undesirable alternatives, and also no dimension of commitment. Children who are still living at home bring more security to the partners, and alternatively partners who no longer have their children living at home bring a greater level of morality into decision-making, more difficulties after ending their relationships, and unattractive alternatives. The author did not perceive any dimensions of pleasure and intimacy in these cases.
The results of the quantitative research were integrated well by the author with the qualitative work, which brought in content-rich results. The author intended to research the qualitative part of the research or identify key changes in the individual's experience within the variables (commitment, intimacy, attachment, and satisfaction) while being involved in therapeutic treatment, which leads to a change in the partnership. With this intention, the content analysis is used to identify key changes in the experience of mutual commitment, intimacy, attachment and satisfaction that occur in couples involved in the therapeutic process based on the model of relational family therapy. The author monitored six couples who were involved in the therapeutic process based on the model of relational family therapy and had the time status of a long-term partnership (lasting 15 years and more).
The author perceived key changes in the individual's experience within the variables, which showed commitment through personal dedication, which was reflected through security, religion, desire for longevity, marriage, connection and vulnerability, attachment through emotional responsiveness, security, support, courage and emotional flow between partners, intimacy through the depth of the relationship, vulnerability, authentic moments of connection, greater emotional openness, reciprocity and being attuned to the partner's feelings and satisfaction through self-awareness, mutual attachment and compassionate responding through positive emotions. Observing all four dimensions lead to a change in the partnership.
In the interpretation, the author touches on two issues, as are persistence, stability and maintaining relationships through the longevity of the partnerships. She states that the duration and time spent together do not promise depth and connection, but only quality, which is not enough to establish intimacy, secure attachment and personal commitment, which are presented in flourishing relationships. The author leads us in the direction of relationship development which is not only based on perseverance, but also consciously maintains the relationship through self-growth and the relationship improvement, conscious commitment, a decision to keep the relationship and above all the positivity of emotions, which are not based only on self reflexion but also touch on the values that concern the partner. The author finds that relational experiences based on contact influence secure attachment long term.
A marriage is therefore based on consent, on the will that the spouses give themselves to each other in order to belong to each other, which confirms their inseparability on their life path. Marital love is above all fully-human, therefore sensual and spiritual. It is not about a bare rush of instincts and emotions, but above all about acts of free will. As being so, this love wants not only to persevere, but also to grow in joy and bitterness of everyday life. This way the spouses achieve their human perfection (Pope Paul 2014, 14).
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