Participants’ age, relationship length, and sexual orientation were not associated with any of our main variables (i.e., attachment security, relationship satisfaction, and perceptions of partner responses). In general, participants tended to report high levels of relationship satisfaction. As predicted, the more likely people were to share their good news, and the more the partner was proud of the person, or enthusiastic about the news, the more satisfied people were in their relationship. These associations remained even after controlling for the importance of the event
Contrary to expectations, higher avoidance did not predict individuals’ tendency to engage in capitalization. Greater anxiety was associated with fewer, rather than greater, attempts to share positive events with partners. These findings differ from research examining disclosure of personal experiences in the social support domain (e.g., Fraley & Shaver, 1998; Simpson, Rholes, & Nelligan, 1992). In other words, high anxiety and low avoidance is linked to increases in sharing negative events in order to seek support. This suggests that ways in which individuals "cope" with positive and negative events may differ and that they these processes may have independent contributions to relationship quality. Finally, when people shared their positive experiences, greater attachment insecurity was associated with a tendency to perceive partners as being disinterested, passive, or critical.