Partner Relationship Satisfaction Research Articles

Investigating the impact of partner phubbing on romantic jealousy and relationship satisfaction: The moderating role of attachment anxiety

The ubiquitous and omnipresent smartphone has dramatically altered how people communicate. The present research investigates how partner phubbing (phone snubbing) among romantic partners impacts relationship satisfaction. Study 1 experimentally manipulates partner phubbing and finds it drives romantic jealousy and relationship satisfaction. Study 2 uses an alternative manipulation of partner phubbing and explores the moderating role of interpersonal attachment anxiety in the relationship between partner phubbing, romantic jealousy, and relationship satisfaction. Study 2 finds that partner phubbing and attachment anxiety have an interactive effect on jealousy, which then leads to relationship satisfaction. Study 3 employs a survey and finds that partner phubbing has downstream negative effects on well-being through romantic jealousy, but only among anxiously attached individuals. The heavy use of technology, especially smartphones, in the presence of one’s romantic partner, and the negative outcomes associated with partner phubbing, establishes the importance of research in this area. Directions for future research and study limitations are discussed.

Do people realize how their partners make them feel? Relationship enhancement motives and stress determine the link between implicitly assessed partner attitudes and relationship satisfaction.

Do people realize the evaluative feelings that are spontaneously activated by their partner? If so, do they use those evaluations when judging their romantic relationships? To answer these questions, we investigated the association between automatic partner attitudes and judgments of relationship satisfaction in 7 studies. Study 1 was a meta-analysis of 86 correlations that revealed a very weak association between implicitly and explicitly assessed relationship evaluations, and Studies 2a-2c revealed that people failed to accurately report their automatic partner attitudes even when specifically asked to do so. Consistent with the idea that such inaccuracy emerged in part because motivational factors led people to override their automatic attitudes, Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated that automatic partner attitudes better aligned with relationship judgments when people were incentivized with money (Study 3) and had dissolved their relationship (Study 4). Nevertheless, consistent with the idea that overriding automatic attitudes requires the opportunity to deliberate, Studies 4 and 5 demonstrated that automatic partner attitudes better aligned with relationship judgments when people experienced more stress at the daily level (Study 4) and yearly for two years (Study 5). In Study 5, the interaction between stress and automatic attitudes emerged controlling indicators of negativity and was further moderated by relationship enhancing motivations among wives. These studies (a) help explain why automatic partner attitudes predict self-reported relationship satisfaction over time and (b) provide support for theories of social cognition suggesting that people have access to implicitly assessed attitudes that is obscured by motivations and opportunities to deliberate. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Sexual Desire, Sexual Satisfaction, and Relationship Satisfaction in the Sexual Function of Arab Couples Living in Saudi Arabia

IntroductionThis study is one of the first to examine the association between relationship and sexual variables as approached from a dyadic perspective in Saudi Arabian couples. Theoretical models assign an important role to relationship factors in women's sexuality.AimWe examined the role of sexual and relationship satisfaction relative to sexual desire in explaining sexual function in a sample of clinical versus nonclinical couples.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional, observational study in a sample of 50 heterosexual couples with sexual problems and 50 control couples without problems (N = 100 couples; 200 men and women).Main Outcome MeasureAll participants completed an Arabic version of measures of relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, sexual distress, and sexual function.ResultsResults showed that in the clinical group, sexual function of women was predicted by their own and their partner's level of sexual satisfaction, and their own level of solitary and dyadic sexual desire. Men's sexual function was predicted by their own sexual satisfaction and their partner's relationship satisfaction. In the control group, the sexual function of women was predicted only by their level of sexual satisfaction. In men, sexual function was predicted by their own sexual satisfaction and their level of dyadic sexual desire.ConclusionThese results suggest that sexual desire rather than relationship satisfaction plays an important role in women's sexual dysfunction. Being the most consistent determinant of male and female sexual functioning, sexual satisfaction is an important target of intervention in Arabian couples.A Attaky, J Schepers, G Kok, et al. The Role of Sexual Desire, Sexual Satisfaction, and Relationship Satisfaction in the Sexual Function of Arab Couples Living in Saudi Arabia. Sex Med 2021;9:100303.

Associations between satisfaction with one's own and partner's body and relationship outcomes

AbstractBody dissatisfaction has been consistently associated with sexual and relationship dissatisfaction; however, much less is known about the association between satisfaction with the partner's body and relationship outcomes. Our aim was to examine the mediating role of sexual satisfaction in the associations between one's satisfaction with one's own and partner's body and relationship satisfaction. Two hundred and thirty‐one cohabiting heterosexual couples completed questionnaires online. The results of path analyses within an actor–partner interdependence model revealed that, for women, there was a significant negative indirect effect of body dissatisfaction on their own relationship satisfaction through their sexual satisfaction. For men, dissatisfaction with their partner's body was negatively related to their own relationship satisfaction with no significant indirect effect through sexual satisfaction. The present study extends previous research using dyadic analyses to test an integrative model that includes satisfaction with one's own and one's partner's body, which relates to sexual and relationship satisfaction in heterosexual couples. By broadening our understanding of body image issues within romantic relationships according to gender, we deepen our knowledge of personal relationships.

Can’t you see I’m trying to help? Relationship satisfaction and the visibility and benefit of social support in type 1 diabetes

Whether visible and invisible social support are beneficial depends on contextual factors, such as relationship satisfaction. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether differences in support provision are impactful in type 1 diabetes (T1D), which involves frequent opportunities for partners to provide support. We hypothesized that invisible support may be beneficial only when relationship satisfaction is high and also that relationship satisfaction may relate to greater visibility of provided support. We tested these hypotheses in a sample of 199 adult persons with T1D (PWD) and their spouses. Using a 14-day diary, PWD reported diabetes support from partners. Partners reported support provided. Invisible support was coded when PWD reported receiving no support, but partners reported providing it. If both PWD and their partner indicated support received/provided, the day was coded as visible support. Glucometers measured daily blood glucose. Participants reported baseline relationship satisfaction and daily positive and negative affect. Results indicated there were no main effects of support visibility on blood glucose or affect. Analyses showed invisible support was associated with lower mean blood glucose, smaller standard deviation of mean blood glucose, and lower average daily risk only when partner relationship satisfaction was high. Both spouses’ greater relationship satisfaction was associated with more visible and less invisible support. The results contribute to the literature on invisible support, by indicating that it may yield beneficial outcomes primarily when partners are more satisfied. Overall, however, invisible support might occur more in less satisfied relationships.

Effects of depression, anxiety, stress, and partner relationship satisfaction on sexual dysfunction in women in the postpartum period

To determine the effects of depression, anxiety, stress, and partner relationship satisfaction on sexual dysfunction in women in postpartum first year, this cross-sectional study was conducted in a gynecological clinic in Turkey. Data belonging to 403 women in postpartum 12 months were analyzed. Data were collected using a multidimensional questionnaire, such as the Female Sexual Function Index, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, and the Relationship Assessment Scale. The association between independent variables and sexual dysfunction was analyzed using the bivariate tests, such as the chi-square and independent sample t-tests and bivariate (binary) logistic regression analysis. Out of 403 women, 266 (66%) scored below the cutoff point (<26.5) for sexual dysfunction. Perineal tears/episiotomy/trauma during vaginal delivery, primiparity, increased depression, and anxiety, and relationship dissatisfaction in the postpartum period increase the risk of developing FSD by 26% (χ2 = 106.699, p < 0.001). In addition, women with higher stress levels were found to be more sensitive to sexual dysfunction symptoms. This study revealed that most women in the postpartum period had postpartum FSD. Midwives should evaluate women regarding their sexual functions during postpartum visits. Health education, counseling, referral services for early diagnosis, and treatment can contribute to maintain and improve women’s sexual health in the postpartum period.

Preserving Romantic Relationship through Social Media

Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites (SNS) that recreates face-to-face interactions on the web by allowing people to interact publicly or privately. Many people use Facebook as a way to stay in contact while others use it to develop new connections. The objective of this study was to investigate how Facebook serves as medium in preserving romantic relationships of faculty members, staff and students of the university. The study used a descriptive-survey and correlational research designs to determine if there is a relationship between the variables. A questionnaire was utilized to determine respondents’ use of Facebook and status of romantic relationships in terms of partner surveillance, relationship satisfaction, self-disclosure and social intimacy. The results revealed that Facebook influence the preservation of romantic relationship as the study found a slight positive relationship between the partner surveillance and relationship satisfaction. The increase in partner surveillance will lead to an increase of relationship satisfaction; hence the absence of it can push a relationship into a negative state. However, other important factors like affectionate communications can lead to relationship satisfaction. Therefore, it was recommended that a strong communication/interaction between couples is needed in maintaining romantic relationship; there is a need of a school program to guide the students, faculty and staff in handling healthy relationship and affectionate communication shall be given value in maintaining romantic relationship.

The Parent's Chronotype and Child's Sleeping Quality in Association with Relationship Satisfaction.

The prospective Ulm-SPATZ study was investigated to assess the role of child sleeping quality between 4 to 6 years of age in affecting a partner’s sleeping and relationship satisfaction within a couple. The study was conducted using a triadic approach in which the child was included in the Actor-Partner-Interdependence Model (APIM). Sleeping quality of the child was determined by using the German version of the children’s sleep habits questionnaire, sleeping features of the parents were assessed by using the Munich chronotype questionnaire, and the partner relationship assessment was performed by employing the German version of the parenting stress index questionnaire. In 211 German triads, we observed that sleeping characteristics and partner relationship scores at different child ages are consistent for both men and women. Higher and statistically significant sleep duration, time spent in bed, the midpoint of sleep, time getting out of bed, and sleep onset in women compared to men during the working days were observed. The APIM analyses showed a significant direct effect of child sleep quality on the partner relationship satisfaction. In women, a mediated effect of child sleep quality acted through sleep duration and time spent in bed on the partner relationship satisfaction score during both free and working days. In men, low child sleep quality was found to be associated with increased sleep onset during both free and working days. Child sleep quality influences relationship satisfaction mostly in mothers, likely because of their higher involvement in childcare during working days. Distress in the couple could be counteracted by a major involvement of the fathers in child management.

Couple Adaptation to the Birth of a Child: The Roles of Attachment and Perfectionism.

This study aims to examine two explanatory factors of relationship satisfaction and parental alliance among both parents of a new child, namely romantic attachment and perfectionism. A sample of 80 couples completed individual online questionnaires. Path analyses based on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model were carried out to explore the actor and partner effects of each explanatory variable (attachment, perfectionism) on both partners' postnatal relationship satisfaction and parental alliance. Results revealed that attachment avoidance is negatively related to each partner's own relationship satisfaction and parental alliance, whereas attachment anxiety is related to their own lower parental alliance. Maladaptive perfectionism is negatively related to each partner's own relationship satisfaction, whereas adaptive perfectionism is positively related to each partner's own relationship satisfaction. These results extend the understanding of the factors contributing to parental and couple adaptation in the postnatal period. They highlight the role of attachment and perfectionism for improving postnatal professionals' interventions.

How Gender Differences in Emotional Cutoff and Reactivity Influence Couple’s Sexual and Relational Outcomes

We evaluated gender differences in differentiation of self, specifically addressing aspects of emotional cutoff (EC) and emotional reactivity (ER), and their association with relational and sexual satisfaction and sexual desire. Midlife U.S. men and women (N = 334 married heterosexual couples; 50% female; 85% Caucasian, mean age 47.4 years) completed online surveys. Men reported higher levels of EC compared to women after accounting for control variables—a medium effect (Cohen's d = .48) which negatively predicted their own relationship and sexual satisfaction as well as partner relationship satisfaction. Women’s EC was also negatively associated with their own relationship satisfaction. Women reported higher levels of ER compared to men after accounting for control variables—a small effect (Cohen's d = .18). No associations with ER and outcome variables were found and no other partner effects were found. For couples in which the woman was higher on ER, the association between women's T1 emotional reactivity and men's T2 sexual desire was positive and significant (B = .31, p < .05). These findings underscore the influence of emotional cutoff on relationship satisfaction and sexual desire and the importance of staying engaged even through relational conflict.

Perceived partner humor use and relationship satisfaction in romantic pairs: The mediating role of relational uncertainty

AbstractThis study investigated relational uncertainty as a mechanism through which perceived partner humor use affects recipient’s relationship satisfaction. Two hundred individuals completed measures of their partners’ perceived positive and negative humor use, their relational uncertainty and relationship satisfaction. Results reveal that perceived partner’s positive relational humor use predicted greater relationship satisfaction, and perceived partner’s negative relational humor use predicted diminished relationship satisfaction. Further, relational uncertainty mediated relationships between perceived partner positive humor and satisfaction and perceived partner negative humor and satisfaction.

Supplemental Material for Do People Realize How Their Partners Make Them Feel? Relationship Enhancement Motives and Stress Determine the Link Between Implicitly Assessed Partner Attitudes and Relationship Satisfaction

Supplemental Material for Do People Realize How Their Partners Make Them Feel? Relationship Enhancement Motives and Stress Determine the Link Between Implicitly Assessed Partner Attitudes and Relationship Satisfaction

Usability and Acceptability of a Smartphone App to Assess Partner Communication, Closeness, Mood, and Relationship Satisfaction: Mixed Methods Study.

BackgroundInterpersonal communication is critical for a healthy romantic relationship. Emotional disclosure, coupled with perceived partner responsiveness, fosters closeness and adjustment (better mood and relationship satisfaction). On the contrary, holding back from disclosure is associated with increased distress and decreased relationship satisfaction. Prior studies assessing these constructs have been cross-sectional and have utilized global retrospective reports of communication. In addition, studies assessing holding back or perceived partner responsiveness have not taken advantage of smartphone ownership for data collection and have instead required website access or use of a study-provided device.ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the (1) usability and acceptability of a smartphone app designed to assess partner communication, closeness, mood, and relationship satisfaction over 14 days and (2) between-person versus within-person variability of key constructs to inform the utility of their capture via ecological momentary assessment using the participants’ own handheld devices.MethodsAdult community volunteers in a married or cohabiting partnered relationship received 2 smartphone prompts per day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, for 14 days. In each prompt, participants were asked whether they had conversed with their partner either since awakening (afternoon prompt) or since the last assessment (evening prompt). If yes, a series of items assessed enacted communication, perceived partner communication, closeness, mood, and relationship satisfaction (evening only). Participants were interviewed by phone, 1 week after the end of the 14-day phase, to assess perceptions of the app. Content analysis was employed to identify key themes.ResultsParticipants (N=27; mean age 36, SD 12 years; 24/27, 89% female; 25/27, 93% white and 2/27, 7% Hispanic) responded to 79.2% (555/701) of the total prompts sent and completed 553 (78.9%) of those assessments. Of the responded prompts, 79.3% (440/555) were characterized by a report of having conversed with one’s partner. The app was seen as highly convenient (mean 4.15, SD 0.78, scale: 1-5) and easy to use (mean 4.39, SD 0.70, scale: 1-5). Qualitative analyses indicated that participants found the app generally easy to navigate, but the response window too short (45 min) and the random nature of receiving notifications vexing. With regard to the variability of the app-delivered items, intraclass correlation coefficients were generally <0.40, indicating that the majority of the variability in each measure was at the within-person level. Notable exceptions were enacted disclosure and relationship satisfaction.ConclusionsThe findings of this study support the usability and acceptability of the app, with valuable user input to modify timing windows in future work. The findings also underscore the utility of an intensive repeated-measures approach, given the meaningful day-to-day variation (greater within-person vs between-person variability) in communication and mood.

Trait Mindfulness and Relationship Satisfaction: The Role of Forgiveness Among Couples.

This study sought to understand the link between trait mindfulness, forgiveness, and relationship satisfaction. Previous research established a significant positive relationship between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction, but forgiveness had not been studied in relation to these variables. Two hundred and nineteen couples in committed romantic relationships were included in the sample and completed self-report measures on trait mindfulness, forgiveness, and relationship satisfaction. Upon conducting an actor-partner interdependence model mediation (APIMeM; Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 2006, 37, 27-40) analysis for dyadic data, results indicated significant positive associations for both inter and intrapersonal effects for both men and women. Findings indicated forgiveness is linked to both individual and partner mindfulness and relationship satisfaction, such that a person's ability to be mindful can impact the ability to forgive and therefore increase relationship satisfaction.

PS-1-12 Attachment Insecurity and Sexual and Relational Experiences in Saudi-Arabian Women: The Role of Perceived Partner Responsiveness and Sexual Assertiveness

Both attachment and intimacy play an important role in shaping sexual and relational experiences. Yet, their interrelation has rarely been investigated in the context of sexual problems. The present study aimed to examine the link between attachment orientation and sexual function, distress, satisfaction and relational satisfaction, and to explore whether this link can be explained by two important aspects of (sexual) intimacy, namely perceived partner responsiveness (PPR) and sexual assertiveness. A sample of 50 heterosexual women with sexual problems and 50 control women without problems, completed an Arabic version of measures of attachment orientation, sexual assertiveness, perceived partner responsiveness, relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, sexual distress, and sexual function. We found that both attachment anxiety and sexual refusal showed a significant association with level of sexual function, sexual distress, and sexual satisfaction in the clinical group. No mediating effects of sexual refusal were found. In the control group, sexual function, sexual distress, and sexual satisfaction were predicted by attachment avoidance. Level of sexual function was also predicted by sexual initiation. Perceived partner responsiveness fully mediated the association between attachment anxiety and relational satisfaction in the clinical group, while, in the control group, the link between attachment avoidance and relational satisfaction was only partially mediated by perceived partner responsiveness.

Partners' Withdrawal When Actors Behave Destructively: Implications for Perceptions of Partners' Responsiveness and Relationship Satisfaction.

Growing evidence indicates that whether critical and hostile behavior harms relationships depends on how partners respond. The current studies test a key behavioral indicator of partners' responsiveness by examining whether partners' withdrawal when actors exhibit negative-direct behavior predicts within-person and longitudinal declines in perceived partner responsiveness and relationship satisfaction. Test of Actors' negative-direct × Partners' withdrawal interactions indicated that partners' withdrawal in the context of actors' negative-direct behavior when targeted for change during conflict discussions (Study 1, N = 162 dyads) and during daily interactions (Study 2, N = 151 dyads) predicted lower perceived partner responsiveness and relationship satisfaction. This Actor × Partner effect did not emerge when actors were pushing for change during conflict (Study 1) and was more consistent predicting perceived partner responsiveness. These results illustrate the importance of Actor × Partner effects and indicate that actors' own destructive behavior provides an important context to diagnose partners' responsiveness.

Determinants of Non-paid Task Division in Gay-, Lesbian-, and Heterosexual-Parent Families With Infants Conceived Using Artificial Reproductive Techniques.

Background: The division of non-paid labor in heterosexual parents in the West is usually still gender-based, with mothers taking on the majority of direct caregiving responsibilities. However, in same-sex couples, gender cannot be the deciding factor. Inspired by Feinberg’s ecological model of co-parenting, this study investigated whether infant temperament, parent factors (biological relatedness to child, psychological adjustment, parenting stress, and work status), and partner relationship quality explained how first-time gay, lesbian, and heterosexual parents divided labor (childcare and family decision-making) when their infants were 4 and 12 months old. We also tested whether family type acted as a moderator.Method: Participants were drawn from the new parents study. Only those who provided information about their biological relatedness to their child (N = 263 parents) were included. When infants were 4 months (T1), parents completed a password-protected online questionnaire exploring their demographic characteristics including work status and standardized online-questionnaires on task division (childcare and family decision-making), infant temperament, parental anxiety, parental depression, parental stress, and partner relationship satisfaction. When infants were 12-months-old (T2), parents provided information about task division and their biological relatedness to their children.Results: Linear mixed models showed that no factor explained the division of family decision making at T1 and T2. For relative time spent on childcare tasks at T1, biological relatedness mattered for lesbian mothers only: biologically related mothers appeared to spend more time on childcare tasks than did non-related mothers. Results showed that, regardless of family type, parents who were not working or were working part-time at T1 performed more childcare tasks at T1. This was still true at T2. The other factors did not significantly contribute to relative time spent on childcare tasks at T2.Conclusion: We had the opportunity to analyze the division of non-paid tasks in families where parenting was necessarily planned and in which gender could not affect that division. Although Feinberg’s model of co-parenting suggests that various factors are related to task division, we found that paid work outside the home was most important during the first year of parenthood in determining caregiving roles.

When Tonight Is Not the Night: Sexual Rejection Behaviors and Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships.

In most long-term romantic relationships, partners experience sexual conflicts of interest in which one partner declines the other partner's sexual advances. We investigated the distinct ways people reject a partner's advances (i.e., with reassuring, hostile, assertive, and deflecting behaviors) in Studies 1 and 2. Using cross-sectional (Study 3) and daily experience methods (Study 4), we investigated how perceptions of a partner's rejection behaviors are linked with the rejected partner's relationship and sexual satisfaction. We found robust evidence that perceived partner reassuring behaviors were associated with greater satisfaction, whereas perceived partner hostile behaviors were associated with lower levels of satisfaction. Perceived partner responsiveness was a key mechanism underlying the effects. Findings for assertive and deflecting behaviors were limited, but the effect of deflecting behaviors was qualified by levels of hostile behaviors for sexual satisfaction. Findings provide the first empirical investigation of the specific ways partners can decline one another's advances to preserve satisfaction.

Emotion dynamics and responsiveness in intimate relationships.

Responding appropriately to an intimate partner's emotional signals and needs requires that one's emotional responses be reactive to significant interpersonal experiences. The adaptive function of emotions is likely compromised if an individual's emotional states are insufficiently attuned to interpersonal events. The present studies examine how individual differences in moment-to-moment emotion dynamics affect interpersonal responsiveness and relationship satisfaction. Study 1 examines associations between emotion dynamics and emotional reactivity to positive and negative relationship events. Emotion dynamics were operationalized using assessments of emotional inertia, which is defined as the degree to which emotions are resistant to change over time. Momentary assessments from 44 participants were collected four times per day over 4 weeks. Emotional inertia showed a curvilinear association with context-sensitive emotional responses to conflict, with individuals high or low in emotional inertia experiencing blunted emotional reactions to conflict. Study 2 assessed emotion dynamics based on four emotion reports per day over 10 days of both partners in a total of 103 couples. Associations of emotion dynamics with perceptions of partners' responsiveness and relationship satisfaction over 12 months were examined. Partners of individuals with high (inert) or low (erratic) emotional inertia perceived them to be less responsive, which then predicted steeper declines in their relationship satisfaction across 12 months. The results suggest that individuals with inert or erratic emotion dynamics exhibit less context-sensitive emotional responding to conflicts and are perceived by their partners to be less responsive which subsequently undermines the quality of their intimate relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Killing Me Softly: Organizational E-mail Monitoring Expectations’ Impact on Employee and Significant Other Well-Being

This paper tests the relationship between organizational expectations to monitor work-related electronic communication during nonwork hours and the health and relationship satisfaction of employees and their significant others. We integrate resource-based theories with research on interruptions to position organizational expectations for e-mail monitoring (OEEM) during nonwork time as a psychological stressor that elicits anxiety due to employee attention allocation conflict. E-mail–triggered anxiety, in turn, negatively affects the health and relationship quality of employees and their significant others. We conducted three studies to test our propositions. Using the experience sampling method with 108 working U.S. adults, Study 1 established within-employee effects of OEEM on anxiety, employee health, and relationship conflict. Study 2 used a sample of 138 dyads of full-time employees and their significant others to replicate detrimental health and relationship effects of OEEM through anxiety. It also showed crossover effects of OEEM on partner health and relationship satisfaction. Finally, Study 3 employed a two-wave data collection method with an online sample of 162 U.S. working adults to provide additional support for the OEEM construct as a distinct and reliable job stressor and replicated findings from Studies 1 and 2. Taken together, our research extends the literature on work-related electronic communication at the interface of work and nonwork boundaries, deepening our understanding of the impact of OEEM on employees and their families’ health and well-being.