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. 2025 Oct 26;26(6):620-625.
doi: 10.1002/jgf2.70076. eCollection 2025 Nov.

Subjective Cognitive Decline, Inter-Personal Attachment Style and Relationship Quality

Mohamed Eshmawey  1   2 , Sonja M Kagerer  3   4 , Federica Ribaldi  2 , Aïda B Fall  1   5 , Paul G Unschuld  1   5
Affiliations

Subjective Cognitive Decline, Inter-Personal Attachment Style and Relationship Quality

Mohamed Eshmawey et al. J Gen Fam Med. .

Abstract

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is characterized by the perception of cognitive dysfunction, and it could be one of the early signs of dementia. While SCD is a common phenomenon in old persons, little is known about how it affects interpersonal relationships.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 16 patients with SCD and 39 volunteers recruited from the COSCODE study. The Hazan and Shafer questionnaires were used to assess patients' attachment styles. The Experience in Close Relationships Scale was used to assess individual differences in attachment-related anxiety and attachment-related avoidance. A Wilcoxon rank-sum test was performed to test for differences between groups, and p-values were Bonferroni-corrected.

Results: SCD is associated with lower disorganized attachment scores (p = 0.01). SCD was not associated with experience in close relationships.

Conclusion: Coping with progressive cognitive decline is a difficult mission. The results of our study on persons with SCD help us to better understand changes in couple relationships before the onset of dementia.

Keywords: attachment style; close relationship; couple life; subjective cognitive decline.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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