Romantic Attachment, Relationship Ideology, Family Support, and Conflict in Women With Incarcerated Partners: A Mediation and Moderation Analysis

Previous studies indicated that the impact of incarceration needs to be conceptualized systematically. Since incarceration affects both incarcerated individuals and their partners, they experience unique challenges. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of extended family support and conflict on the romantic relationship between attachment patterns and relationship ideology among female partners of incarcerated individuals. A sample of 898 females in relationships with incarcerated males was drawn from the Multi-Site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering data to conduct both moderation and mediation path analysis. The findings highlighted both the positive and significant correlation between attachment patterns and relationship ideology. The findings also revealed that extended family support has a moderating influence, however conflict tactics did not have a significant mediation effect on the relationship between attachment patterns and relationship ideology. Clinical implications and future research directions are provided.