Financial Factors and Couple Relationship Satisfaction: A Systematic Review Using the TCCM Framework

Studies have found the importance of parent couple relationship and parent child relationship in relation to children’s emotional regulation. Nevertheless, these findings are based on isolated studies which do not really reflect the extent to which each factor relates with each other as well as to their children’s emotional regulation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interactions between parents’ couple relationship satisfaction, parent-child relationship and children’s emotion regulation among children in Malaysia. Couple Satisfaction Index (CSI)-4 was used to measure satisfaction level in couple relationship, PACHIQ-R for parent-child relationship and Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) for children’s emotion regulation. Cluster sampling was used to select the sample and a total of 357 parents responded to the questionnaires. The analyses have found that all variables are significantly and positively correlated with each other. In other words, the findings suggest that parent-child relationship is related to parents’ couple relationship and children’s emotional regulation is related to both of these variables.

A New Baby in the Bedroom: Frequency and Severity of Postpartum Sexual Concerns and Their Associations With Relationship Satisfaction in New Parent Couples

In the present study we explored the relationship between personality characteristics and relationship satisfaction in couples. Using a sample of 14,807 couples from the RELATE dataset, a model was tested examining the direct and indirect (via self-esteem) associations between personality traits (i.e., shyness) and relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, the model assessed shyness, self-esteem, and relationship satisfaction for both partners in the relationship. The results indicated that higher levels of shyness were associated with lower self-esteem in individuals, as well as lower relationship satisfaction. Implications of results and the use of partner ratings of personality indicators are discussed.

Mindfulness interventions (MIs) train nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experience and aim to improve mental health and well-being. The evidence for their effect on interpersonal relationships is promising but uncertain. This study examines the effect of MIs on couple relationship satisfaction (RS). Randomized controlled trials of MIs including RS were selected based on systematic searches in Web of Science, PubMed, APA PsycInfo, Embase, Cochrane Central, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. We applied three-level meta-analysis with robust variance estimation to pool effects and multimodel approaches to explore moderators. We calculated 90 effect sizes (k) nested within 28 studies (K) including 6,097 participants in a couple relationship. MIs had a significant medium effect on RS with high heterogeneity (g = 0.60, 95% confidence interval [0.16, 1.04], I2 = 97 [95, 99]). The effect on RS was influenced by extreme outliers (e.g., g up to 7.48). Removing outliers resulted in a significant small effect with low heterogeneity (g = 0.21 [0.11, 0.31], I2 = 25 [0, 67], k = 85, K = 26). Effects were moderated by intervention length, baseline satisfaction, and risk of bias. There were significant effects for both clinical and community samples. The certainty of the evidence is very low due to inconsistency, imprecision, risk of bias, and suspicion of publication bias. Generalization is limited by insufficient reporting. This meta-analysis indicates that MIs have a consistent small effect on RS, but the quality of evidence points to the need for program theory and rigorous methodology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

The couple relationship is of particular importance in the transition to parenthood and in the early childhood years because it is related to the well-being and mental health of partners, children, and the family. One factor that may substantially influence relationship quality and couple satisfaction after childbirth is the woman’s experience of birth. Approximately 2–4% of women develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after childbirth, with potentially wide-ranging negative consequences for the women themselves and their families. To date, some qualitative studies have explored the influence of postpartum PTSD on couple relationship satisfaction. However, quantitative studies are sparse, with mixed results and methodological limitations. We hypothesized that postpartum PTSD will be prospectively associated with low couple relationship satisfaction, even when taking into account a variety of potential confounding variables, and that the effect of postpartum PTSD symptoms on couple relationship satisfaction will be mediated by postpartum depression symptoms. This study is based on data from the Akershus Birth Cohort study, a prospective cohort study. Information from hospital records and questionnaires completed at 17 weeks gestational age, as well as at 8 weeks and 2 years postpartum were used (n = 1480). PTSD symptoms were measured by the Impact of Event Scale and couple relationship satisfaction was assessed using a modified version of the Mehrabians Marital Satisfaction Scale. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Data were analyzed using bivariate correlations, multivariate regression analyses, and mediation analyses. Postpartum PTSD symptoms were prospectively related to low couple relationship satisfaction at 2 years postpartum, even when controlling for a considerable number of background factors. When including postpartum depression symptoms as predictor in the analyses, the effect of postpartum PTSD was no longer significant. Moreover, more detailed analyses showed that postpartum depression symptoms acted as a significant mediator, fully explaining the association of postpartum PTSD with couples’ relationship satisfaction. Early detection of couples’ relationship problems and the provision of professional help, particularly in high-risk couples may not only improve the quality of the couple relationship but also improve parenting and promote positive child outcomes.

Supplemental Material for The Role of Intimate Partner Violence and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples’ Interpersonal Emotional Arousal

Many new parents are concerned that they have different levels of interest in sex than their partner. Understanding the role of desire discrepancies in their sexual and relationship satisfaction could help promote adjustment. In community couples, larger desire discrepancies have been inconsistently linked to lower sexual and relationship satisfaction. However, these studies rarely accounted for both the degree and direction (e.g., which partner has higher desire) of the discrepancy. We surveyed 255 mixed-sex new parent couples to assess their sexual desire, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction. Using polynomial regression with response surface analysis (RSA), we found that desire discrepancies between partners (i.e., when partners were more mismatched as opposed to matched on their levels of sexual desire) were associated with lower sexual (but not relationship) satisfaction for both partners. However, the direction of desire discrepancy mattered: Parents felt less satisfied when mothers were the higher-desire partner compared to when fathers were the higher-desire partner. In addition, when partners’ level of sexual desire was in agreement, they were more sexually and relationally satisfied if both partners reported higher compared to lower desire. Results demonstrate the important role of both the magnitude and direction of desire discrepancies in new parent couples.

Interracial couples have different experiences compared to their intraracial counterparts. Interracial couples and their relationships (particularly their marriages) have been studied to see whether there are any effects on the relationship due to the couple’s inherent differences. However, the literature heavily focuses on interracial marriages while only touching on interracial relationships in general, with a primary focus on interracial couples of all kinds. With the tension between White and Black Americans over the years, one can wonder if there would be any noticeable differences within Black/White interracial couples with regard to racial identification and experienced discrimination due to the Black-White racial disparity. This study tested whether these factors contribute to the overall relationship satisfaction in Black/White interracial couples. Data were collected via MTurk and participants completed three assessments to capture how racial identity and experienced discrimination impact their relationship. Racial identity was assessed using Worrell, Mendoza, and Wang’s (2019) Cross Ethnic-racial Identity Scale- Adult (CERIS-A); perceived racial discrimination was assessed Conger’s (2006) revised version of Landrine et al.’s (2006) General Ethnic Discrimination Scale; and relationship satisfaction was assessed using Funk and Rogge’s (2007) Couples Satisfaction Index (CSI-16). It was predicted that experienced discrimination and racial identity would impact the relationship satisfaction of Black-White interracial couples. The results showed that experienced discrimination did significantly impact relationship satisfaction and racial identity, however, racial identity did not significantly impact relationship satisfaction in Black-White interracial couples. The lack of research on the CERIS-A’s validity when interacting with other constructs, a missing question on the CSI-16, and not accounting for biracial participants and their experiences with racial identity development are all limitations that should be considered when reviewing the results. Clinicians can use the information from this study to assist clients in having more conversations about their experiences of discrimination with one another and having them create their own meanings around interracial dating and racial identity.

Couple relationship satisfaction is an important predictor of physical and mental health. Despite this, currently offered interventions for distressed couples are not always effective. The present cross-sectional online survey design examined how yoga practice, mindfulness, and emotional intelligence interrelate when predicting relationship satisfaction. The study consisted of 128 heterosexual married or cohabiting Australian adults (mean age 29.7 ± 9.3) who practice yoga. Supporting the hypothesis, a serial mediation analysis revealed that time spent practicing yoga had a positive influence on relationship satisfaction through mindfulness, and then through emotional intelligence (b = 0.005, 95% CI 0.001 to 0.009). The findings also showed a direct effect of time spent practicing yoga on relationship satisfaction; however, there was no support for the individual mediating effects of mindfulness and emotional intelligence on the association between time spent practicing yoga and relationship satisfaction. The current findings suggest that yoga may be an effective and easily implemented approach to improving mindfulness and enhancing emotional intelligence, as well as heterosexual couples' relationship satisfaction.

Research has demonstrated a clear link between perceived emotional invalidation and increased psychological distress. However, available studies have predominantly focused on individual data, and leave the impact on relationship satisfaction largely unexplored. Considering the systemic-transactional model, our study aimed to examine the association between perceived emotional invalidation, psychological distress, and couple relationship satisfaction from a dyadic perspective. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 240 mixed-gender couples from Portugal employing the Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediational Model to analyse the data to examine actor and partner direct and indirect effects. Results showed that, for both women and men, own perceived emotional invalidation was associated with own psychological distress but not with own relationship satisfaction. Also, own psychological distress was associated with own relationship satisfaction but only for women. Finally, one actor and one partner indirect effects were found. Women perceived emotional invalidation was associated with their own psychological distress which in turn contributed to lower levels of relationship satisfaction for both them and their partners. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the dyadic effects of perceived emotional invalidation on psychological distress and relationship satisfaction within romantic relationships identifying interpersonal emotional dynamics as an important target of interventions.

The research on the role of father in the foetal programming of health and behaviour has received increasing attention. However, the influences of paternal depressive symptoms and couple relationship satisfaction during pregnancy - potentially mediated via maternal well-being - on the offspring's risk of infections in early life is still seldom assessed. The aim was to investigate if paternal psychological distress during pregnancy is associated with elevated risk of recurrent respiratory infections (RRIs) for offspring at 12 months of age, and whether maternal distress mediates the association between paternal distress and offspring RRIs. The study population was drawn from the nested case-control cohort of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. Children with RRIs (n = 50) were identified by maternal reports at the age of 12 months, whereas mothers did not report RRIs for the comparison group (n = 716). Parental depressive symptoms were measured with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and couple relationship satisfaction was measured with the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. The association between paternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and offspring RRIs was mediated by maternal prenatal depressive symptoms. Additionally, paternal poorer relationship satisfaction was associated with child RRIs independently of maternal distress. The results suggest different pathways through which paternal distress during pregnancy may contribute to elevated risk of offspring RRIs, and more research is needed to study their underlying mechanisms. Paternal distress and couple relationship satisfaction during pregnancy should be assessed and screened as a contributor to offspring health.

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship quality and satisfaction in couples, in which one partner had PD, obtaining the perspective of both patients and partner and to examine the impact of alexithymia, empathy, depression, and anxiety on ratings of relationship quality and satisfaction. Fifteen PD patients and partners completed the following scales: the Dyadic Adjustment Scale; Couple Satisfaction Index (CSI); the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale; the Empathy Quotient; the Hamilton Depression and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). We evaluated patients' motor functions by means of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and patients' quality of life by means of the PD Questionnaire. Patients were significantly less satisfied with the relationship than their partners as revealed by CSI (p = 0.031) and they were more depressed (p = 0.003) and anxious (p = 0.015). A negative correlation between measures of relationship quality and satisfaction and alexithymia was found in the patients group. No correlations were found between measures of relationship quality and satisfaction (both of patients and partners) and any other demographical and clinical variables. CSI and HAM-A were predictors of patient's social support evaluation. The presence of alexithymia in PD is an important factor affecting relationship quality and satisfaction.

Variables such as relationship duration are often overlooked when trying to intervene with dissatisfied couples, making it important to evaluate the significance of such variables on overall relationship satisfaction. This study looked at the impact of length of relationship on conflict communication and relationship satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed no significant relationship between length of relationship and relationship satisfaction for either males or females. However, length of relationship did impact males’ perceptions of conflict communication which in turn significantly predicted relationship satisfaction. This finding indicates that conflict communication should be further researched for its impact on relationship satisfaction.

The actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) was employed in this study to investigate the mediating effect self-differentiation and spousal caregiving have on the relationship between recollection of parental care and acceptance and couple satisfaction. One hundred and forty-four non-clinical couples (N = 288) in enduring relationships were recruited. Results for actor effects revealed two mediating paths whereby, among both partners, recollection of maternal (but not paternal) acceptance was associated with their self-differentiation and responsive spousal caregiving, which, in turn, were linked to their spousal relationship satisfaction. Partner effects revealed three mediating paths: for both partners, recollection of childhood maternal acceptance was associated with responsive caregiving, which, in turn, was linked with their partner’s relationship satisfaction. Interestingly, the husbands’ recollection of maternal acceptance was associated with their partners’ responsive spousal caregiving, which was linked to both spouses’ relationship satisfaction. Our results may support the theoretical assumptions regarding intergenerational continuity from perceptions of childhood via self-differentiation effecting couple caregiving to couple relationship, but only on the mother’s part.

Despite previous research findings that suggest that same-sex couples often experience unique stressors within their relationships, other findings indicate that same-sex couples demonstrate similar levels of relationship satisfaction as compared with heterosexual couples. The study described in this article was conducted to examine the extent to which various personal, relationship, and contextual resources may contribute to relationship satisfaction among individuals in same-sex couples. The findings indicated that individuals in same-sex couples may have more variability in the levels of support they receive from contextual resources. In addition, relationship resources were predictive of relationship satisfaction among the study participants, although personal and contextual resources did not contribute any unique variance to relationship satisfaction. The article concludes with implications for theory, practice, and research in couple and family counseling.