Attachment Insecurity and Partner Reflective Functioning in the Context of Long-Distance Interracial Romantic Relationships

Partner reflective functioning—the capacity to understand the behaviors of a romantic partner in the context of mental states—is an important interpersonal psychological process that is associated with positive relationship outcomes. Attachment insecurity, a widely known risk factor for relationship outcomes, may be relevant for understanding interracial romantic relationship partner reflective functioning. Working with a sample of adults in long-distance relationships, this study tested whether the association of relationship type (interracial [n = 90] and intraracial [n = 215]) with partner reflective functioning varied by attachment insecurity. We found that at high levels of attachment insecurity (both anxiety and avoidance), individuals in an interracial romantic relationship engaged in lower partner reflective functioning relative to individuals in an intraracial romantic relationship. Conversely, we found that at low levels of attachment avoidance, individuals in an interracial romantic relationship engaged in higher levels of partner reflective functioning relative to individuals in an intraracial romantic relationship. Although attachment insecurity may be associated with lower partner reflective functioning when individuals are in a long-distance interracial romantic relationship, attachment security may allow these individuals to experience higher levels of partner reflective functioning.