Explicit Stress Communication Facilitates Perceived Responsiveness in Dyadic Coping.

Ariela Francesca Pagani,Dominik Schoebi,Anna Bertoni,Raffaella Iafrate,Miriam Parise,Silvia Donato

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00401

Ariela Francesca Pagani, Dominik Schoebi + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00401

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Abstract

The present study was aimed at examining the role of explicit stress communication in the context of dyadic coping. The general aim of the present study was to test (a) whether explicit communication of daily stressful events predicted relationship satisfaction and (b) whether the perception of responsiveness in dyadic coping mediated the association between explicit stress communication and partners’ satisfaction. We analyzed daily diary data from 55 married couples and multilevel analyses suggested that, although explicit stress communication was not associated with relationship satisfaction, it predicted both partners’ responsiveness in dyadic coping behaviors. Finally, responsive dyadic coping behaviors mediated the relationship between explicit stress communication and relationship satisfaction. On the whole, our findings showed that perceived responsiveness in dyadic coping with daily stressors was facilitated by explicit stress communication and that this contributed to the effectiveness of dyadic coping behaviors in fostering partners’ relationship satisfaction. We discussed how the current study contributes to the understanding of the dyadic coping process and its contribution to partners’ satisfaction, underscoring the importance of communication skills.

Highlights

How a couple deals with stress can have a lasting effect on the relationship, even when responding to daily stressors (Randall and Bodenmann, 2009)
We focused on explicitness of disclosures about the stressful event, rather than explicitness in the expression of the emotions connected to the event, given that explicit emotion communication was found to be rare in dyadic coping interactions (Kuhn et al, 2017)
The goal of the current work was to increase our understanding of explicit stress communication in the context of dyadic coping

Summary

INTRODUCTION

How a couple deals with stress can have a lasting effect on the relationship, even when responding to daily stressors (Randall and Bodenmann, 2009). Recently has the role of the communication mode received empirical attention It has been found, for example, that, in couples with one depressed partner, the enhancement of mutual support and explicit communication about the personal stress through copingoriented couple therapy was positively related to partners’ levels of relationship satisfaction and expressed emotions (Bodenmann et al, 2008). What remained unaddressed is whether explicit stress communication had implications for the perceived responsiveness of the other’s dyadic coping reactions This seems a crucial link, as partners’ perceptions of the other’s dyadic coping behaviors are considered key components of the dyadic coping process, mediating the link between actual behaviors and relationship satisfaction (Donato et al, 2015). Literature on dyadic coping evidenced both gender differences (e.g., Bodenmann et al, 2015) and similarities (Donato et al, 2015) in partner’s dyadic coping responses

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