Development of Avoidant Personality from childhood to Adilthhood: Pathology of Marital Interaction

Personality traits play a vital role in the quality of interpersonal relationships and family life. This study investigated the development of avoidant personality from childhood to adulthood and the marital interaction pathology of the men with avoidant personality disorder from their wive's perspectives.The development of this personality style was studied through studying related resources. To study the personality traits of these men in marital interactions semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 women whose husbands had avoidant personality traits and who were selected by purposeful sampling. In analyzing data using thematic analysis, 14 characteristics were obtained which showed these men's characteristics in marital interactions. They included "withdrawal, insight without pondering, self-centeredness, poor self-concept, social phobia, talking inactivity, emotionally cold homes, behavioral passivity, sexual passivity, change aversion, marital burnout, compulsive perfectionism, passive-aggressive, sociable appearance". Since avoidant personality characteristics are both harmful to self and others, identifying and preventing the development of the disorder in children will promote the quality of interpersonal relationships and family life.