Couple Relationship Quality Research Articles

Are we okay…Am I okay? Romantic attachment, couple relationship quality and depressive symptoms in a Chilean sample

Are we okay…Am I okay? Romantic attachment, couple relationship quality and depressive symptoms in a Chilean sample

Food Insecurity and Children's Problem Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Parental Relationship Quality and Parenting Stress.

Food insecurity, identified as a critical stressor for many families, can directly and indirectly influence children's development through interparental relationships and parenting. This study examines how food insecurity relates to children's problem behaviors and the mediating roles of interparental relationship quality and parenting stress. It also investigates the association between parents' perception of relationship quality and both their own and their partner's parenting stress. The study included 2095 children from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The actor partner interdependence model was used to explore the actor and partner influence of relationship quality on parents' parenting stress. To examine the association pathways from food insecurity to children's problem behaviors, a structural equation model was conducted. Results suggest that fathers' perception of couple relationship quality predicted both their own and their partner's parenting stress while mothers' perception of couple relationship quality only predicted their own, but not fathers', parenting stress. In the positive association between food insecurity and children's problem behaviors, there was a serial mediation through mothers' perception of relationship quality and mothers' parenting stress. In addition, food insecurity was negatively correlated with mothers' perception of relationship quality, but not with that of fathers. This study highlights the pathway from food insecurity to children's problem behaviors through mothers' perceptions of interparental relationship quality and parenting stress. Results provide support for the family stress theory and offer valuable insights for the formulation of potential prevention and intervention programs.

The Impact of Motor, Non-Motor, and Social Aspects on the Sexual Health of Men Living with Parkinson's Disease.

Sexual health (SH) is influenced by several biological, mental, and social factors that may be negatively impacted by Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite its prevalence and relevance for quality of life, the factors that affect SH in men with PD (MwPD) are still poorly understood. To investigate the impact of motor, non-motor, and social aspects on the SH in MwPD. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 80 men (mean-age 53.55±10.8) in stages 1-3 of Hoehn and Yahr classification (H&Y), who reported having an active sex life in the last six months. The following data were collected for each person: 1) Demographic and clinical features; 2) global cognitive capacity (T-MoCA); 3) Non-Motor Aspects of Experiences of Daily Living (MDS-UPDRS, part I); 4) Motor Aspects of Experiences of Daily Living (MDS-UPDRS, part II); 5) Fatigue (FSS); 6) Self-esteem (RSES); 7) Sleep disorder (PDSS); 8) Couple relationship quality (DAS); 9) Depressive signals (BDI); 10) Short-term sexual health by International Index of Erectile Function (IIFE); and 11) Long-term sexual health by Sexual Quotient-Male (SQ-M). Our results showed that although several motor, non-motor, and social factors were correlated with SH, only motor disability levels in daily living predicted short-term SH and erectile dysfunction, while only depression predicted long-term SH in MwPD. Age, disease onset, and medication daily dosage were not correlated with SH. Our findings confirm that multidimensional factors can affect the SH of MwPD and emphasize that only a multi-professional team can offer proper care to improve SH in MwPD.

Couple Social Comparisons and Relationship Quality: A Path Analysis Model

Aim/Purpose: This study offers an important contribution to the literature on couple social comparisons by showing how different aspects of comparisons are related to relationship quality. Background: Making social comparisons is a daily tendency of human beings that does not only occur on an individual level but also in the context of romantic relationships. This phenomenon is widespread among couples, though partners differ in terms of their propensity to make couple social comparisons. The literature has shown that all these facets of couple social comparison play an important role in relationship functioning. Methodology: In the current study of 104 young adults in a heterosexual relationship, we investigated the association of couple social comparison propensity, explicit couple social comparisons, and implicit couple social comparisons with couple relationship quality in terms of commitment and relationship satisfaction. Contribution: So far, studies have not tested all these aspects in predicting partners’ relationship quality. Findings: Results showed that commitment was negatively predicted by relationship social comparison propensity and positively predicted by implicit couple social comparisons, while relationship satisfaction was positively predicted by both implicit and explicit couple social comparisons. Recommendation for Researchers: Our results have implications for couple interventions. In preventive interventions, sustaining a positive view of one’s relationship may promote relationship satisfaction and commitment. Future Research: Future research should adopt a dyadic design to investigate cross-partner associations.

Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Psychological Hardiness and Marital Relationship Quality in Couples with Marital Conflicts

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy on psychological hardiness and the quality of marital relationships in couples with marital conflicts. Methods and Materials: The research method was a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test with a control group. The statistical population of this study consisted of couples with marital conflicts in Tehran in 2023. Then, 32 couples with marital conflicts were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to the experimental group (16 people) and the control group (16 people). The data collection tools were questionnaires on psychological hardiness and the quality of marital relationships. Subsequently, cognitive-behavioral therapy training was conducted on the experimental group over 8 sessions of 90 minutes each. After the training sessions, post-tests were administered to both the experimental and control groups. Findings: The findings indicated that the post-test scores of the experimental group in psychological hardiness and the quality of marital relationships were significantly better than those of the control group. Conclusion: Therefore, cognitive-behavioral therapy has an effect on psychological hardiness and the quality of marital relationships in couples with marital conflicts.

Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on Marital Relationship Quality and Emotion Regulation in Couples Affected by Infidelity

Objective: Marital infidelity is the primary reason couples seek divorce, leading them to family counseling clinics. The current study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of schema therapy on marital relationship quality and emotion regulation in couples affected by infidelity. Methods and Materials: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test control group design. The population included all couples in Nowshahr affected by infidelity in 2023. The sample consisted of 30 couples affected by infidelity (15 for the control group and 15 for the experimental group), selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two groups. Data collection tools were the Busby et al. (1995) Marital Relationship Quality Questionnaire and the Garnefski and Kraaij (2006) Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. For data analysis, mean, standard deviation were used in the descriptive section, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and SPSS version 26 were employed in the inferential section. Findings: The results showed that schema therapy had a significant effect on marital relationship quality (F = 72.99, P < 0.01) and emotion regulation (F = 51.44, P < 0.01) in couples affected by infidelity. Conclusion: It can be concluded that schema therapy was effective in improving marital relationship quality and emotion regulation in couples affected by infidelity, and can be utilized to reduce psychological problems in such couples.

Supplemental Material for My Partner Really Gets Me: Affective Reactivity to Partner Stress Predicts Greater Relationship Quality in New Couples

Supplemental Material for My Partner Really Gets Me: Affective Reactivity to Partner Stress Predicts Greater Relationship Quality in New Couples

Increased Relationship Quality in Couples Relieves Individual Suffering Following Systemic Therapy: A Hierarchical Mediation Analysis

We examined relationship quality of couples as a mediator between therapy progression and reduced individual distress in short-term systemic couple therapy. Participants evaluated relationship-quality (EVOS), therapy progress (STEP), and individual distress (OQ45) before therapy and one month after therapy. Clients’ evaluation of the therapeutic process predicted a reduction of individual distress. Hierarchical mediation-analysis revealed that the effect was completely mediated by the change in the relationship quality over the course of the therapy. Results highlight the importance of relationship quality for each individual’s health. Specifically in systemic couple therapy, improving relationship quality is the core ingredient that drives its effectiveness.

A longitudinal study of families created using egg donation: Family functioning at age 5.

Findings are reported from Phase 2 of a longitudinal study of family functioning in heterosexual-couple families with 5 year olds conceived using identity-release egg donation. Seventy-two egg donation families were compared to 50 in vitro fertilization (IVF) families (ethnicity: 93% White British) using standardized observational, interview, and questionnaire measures. There were no differences between family types in the quality of mother-child or father-child interaction, apart from lower structuring by fathers in egg donation families. Egg donation mothers and fathers reported higher levels of parenting stress and lower levels of confidence and competence than their IVF counterparts. Egg donation mothers reported lower social support and couple relationship quality, greater anger toward their child, and perceived their child as more angry and less happy, compared to IVF mothers. Egg donation fathers showed greater criticism and anger toward their child, less joy in parenting, and were less satisfied with the support they received, than IVF fathers. Children in egg donation families showed higher levels of externalizing problems than IVF children as rated by mothers, fathers, and teachers, whereas they were rated as having higher levels of internalizing problems by teachers only. Externalizing problems were predicted by mothers' lower initial social support, steeper increases in parenting stress and greater concurrent criticism, whereas internalizing problems were associated with poorer initial couple relationship quality as rated by mothers. Both were predicted by fewer gains in reflective functioning. There was a moderation effect such that parenting stress was a stronger predictor of externalizing problems for egg donation than IVF families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Prenatal testosterone synchrony in first-time parents predicts fathers' postpartum relationship quality

There is evidence that men's testosterone levels decline across the transition to fatherhood and that this decline may reflect fathers' investment in the new family. There is also emerging evidence that cohabiting couples show synchrony or within-couple associations in testosterone levels during the perinatal period. Hormonal synchrony may act as a mechanism that supports fathers' biological preparation for parenthood, perhaps by facilitating perinatal declines in paternal testosterone. However, few studies have examined testosterone synchrony and change within couples. A sample of 97 U.S. couples expecting their first child provided testosterone samples during pregnancy, and of those couples, 78 couples also provided testosterone at seven months postpartum. Couples reported on relationship satisfaction both at prenatal and postpartum visits. Bayesian multilevel modeling revealed within-couple testosterone synchrony both during pregnancy and postpartum. Testosterone synchrony during pregnancy predicted a greater drop in fathers' testosterone levels from prenatal to postpartum and higher paternal postpartum relationship quality. Fathers' lower prenatal testosterone levels also subsequently predicted higher self-reported postpartum relationship quality for both parents. In sum, this study finds that couples' testosterone levels show synchrony across the transition to parenthood in ways that are associated with couple relationship quality and men's neuroendocrine preparation for fatherhood.

Prenatal Version of the Coparenting Relationship Scale Among Finnish Couples Expecting Their Firstborn

AbstractAlthough coparenting has been widely studied, research on what expectant couples think about their future coparenting is limited. Our aim was to examine the psychometric properties of the Prenatal Version of Coparenting Relationship Scale among Finnish couples expecting their first child. We were also interested in the associations between couples’ expectations of coparenting and couple relationship quality. Expectants and partners (N = 157 Finnish couples expecting their first child; 156 in a heterosexual and 1 in a same-sex relationship) individually completed the questionnaires 1–3 months before childbirth. We used Exploratory Factor Analysis and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling. The results showed that both expectants’ and partners’ expectations of coparenting were very positive. Two dimensions, Expectations of cooperative coparenting and Expectations of coparenting conflict, were found for both expectants and partners, and both dimensions were largely invariant across spouses. The two dimensions were associated with each other. Expectations of cooperative coparenting were positively associated with prenatal couple relationship quality in both expectants and partners, thus confirming concurrent validity between these measures. Support for the discriminant validity of coparenting conflict in relation to couple relationship quality was found for both spouses whereas the discriminant validity of cooperative coparenting was confirmed for partners only. Our results indicate preliminary support for the validity and reliability of the Finnish version of the Coparenting Relationship Scale—Couples’ Prenatal Version (CRS-CPV) for assessing coparenting expectations, especially among heterosexual couples.

More–than–relationship quality: A feminist new materialist analysis of relationship quality and the potential of digital couple interventions

AbstractLong‐established studies and scales have advanced understandings of family function, marital satisfaction, and couple relationship quality. The underpinning constructs nevertheless remain under‐conceptualized and largely removed from the heuristic of everyday life and the dynamic of contemporary coupledom. We propose that a paradigm shift is required to sufficiently engage with the digital worlds of 21st century intimacies. Ideas in feminist new materialism revitalize the epistemology and ontology of relationship science. This enables a new look at how relationship quality is manifest in and created through human–technology intra–actions. The research tools of feminist new materialism are, however, typically creative and intentionally exploratory. We demonstrate how using a practices approach, which focuses on everyday lived experience, facilitates investigation of multidimensional public–private worlds. We deploy this to build a feminist new materialist analysis of a digital couple intervention. Through this, we develop the concept ofmore–than–relationship quality.

Parents’ Family Coping Strategies during the Pandemic: Effects on Parent and Child Well-Being

This study aimed to understand the strategies families used to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, and their effects on family, parent, child, and couple functioning and well-being. In April and May 2020, and again one month later, 277 parents from 174 families who previously participated in a trial of a family preventive intervention were invited to participate in an online survey regarding the pandemic. Parents completed measures regarding family cohesion, couple coparenting and relationship quality, parenting quality, and parent and child mental health and well-being. Parents were asked to share the coping strategies they found most effective, and responses were coded into four groups: Family Unity, Healthy Habits, Adaptability, and Child-Focused. Adaptability was associated with increases in couple relationship quality but also in child internalizing and externalizing behaviors from Month 1 to Month 2. The results suggest that the strategies parents use may have differing effects on parents and children.

The Influence of Home-Based Music Therapy Interventions on Relationship Quality in Couples Living with Dementia-An Adapted Convergent Mixed Methods Study.

Relationship quality is important for well-being and quality of life in couples living with dementia. Home-based music therapy interventions may be conducted with the aim of enhancing relationship quality. However, the effects or influences of such interventions are only briefly investigated in previous studies. This study's aim was to identify how a 12-week home-based music therapy intervention may influence relationship quality in couples living with dementia, through an adapted convergent mixed methods design. In this case, 68 participating couples from the HOMESIDE RCT study, and four individually recruited couples, received the music therapy intervention. Relationship quality for all participants was measured by the standardized Quality of Caregiver-Patient Relationship scale, and qualitative interviews were conducted with the four individually recruited participants at baseline and post intervention. Quantitative analysis indicated no statistically significant intervention effect. However, relationship quality remained stable over the intervention period. The qualitative analysis identified that the music therapy interventions primarily led to positive emotions, closeness, intimacy, and communication between the persons with dementia and their care partners. Intervention influences could also be ambiguous, as sharing music experiences might involve a risk of evoking vulnerabilities or negative emotional responses.

For better or worse: Economic strain, furlough, and relationship quality during the Covid‐19 lockdown

AbstractObjectiveThis study evaluates the role of objective and subjective measures of economic uncertainty, as well as furlough schemes, on changes in couples' relationships during the first lockdown in the UK.BackgroundMost theories of relationship quality argue that economic uncertainty strains intimate relationships, leading to a deterioration in relationship quality. Few studies capture such an intense period of economic uncertainty, and the role of government policy to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis.MethodThe study employs the UK Household Longitudinal Covid‐19 surveys conducted in April–June 2020. Using multinomial logit regression models (N = 5792), we examine how self‐reported change in relationship quality is associated with socioeconomic status, subjective financial uncertainty, and change in employment situation, especially for those furloughed through the UK government's Employment Protection Scheme.ResultsThe study finds that 8% of individuals reported a decline in their couple relationship quality, but 19% reported improvements. Those with higher education and household earnings were more likely to experience improvements in relationship quality. Reduced work hours or job loss was not associated with changes in relationship, although expecting a worse future financial situation was. Furlough was strongly associated with improvements in relationships, and furloughed men were slightly more likely to report an improvement in their relationships than women.Conclusion and ImplicationsAlthough prior research has found that economic uncertainty is detrimental to relationships, employment protection schemes seem to have mitigated some of the worst effects on families.

Fatherhood, Behavioral Health, and Criminal Legal System Contact over the Life Course.

Life course theories suggest that fathers' lifetime criminal legal system contact could contribute to poor parent-child outcomes via deterioration in couple relationship quality and fathers' behavioral health. Using paired, longitudinal data from the Multi-site Family Study (N = 1,112 couples), the current study examines the influence of three dimensions of fathers' life course legal system contact on individual and parent-child outcomes. In fitted models, accumulated system contact in adulthood predicts fathers' later depressive symptoms and drug misuse, which in turn predict diminished father-child relationship quality (as reported by both co-parents). Fathers who were older at the time of their first arrest had poorer relationships with their children's mothers and, in turn, poorer behavioral health and parent-child outcomes. Conditions of confinement during fathers' most recent prison stay do not significantly predict later parent-child outcomes, net of the influence of age at first arrest and accumulated criminal legal system contact in adulthood.

The Moderating Role of Dyadic Coping in the Link Between Parenting Stress and Couple Relationship Quality in Parents of Children with ADHD

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders in childhood and adolescence. The child’s ADHD symptoms are associated with increased stress levels for parents. Previous research has shown that parenting stress has a negative impact on parental relationship quality, but those negative effects can be mitigated through the couple’s positive dyadic coping. However, these associations have not yet been studied for parents of children with ADHD. Therefore, this cross-sectional online study was aiming at investigating whether dyadic coping moderates the link between parenting stress and couple relationship quality in parents of children with ADHD in comparison to parents of children without ADHD. Data from 446 parents of children aged 6 to 16 years (clinical group: n = 265 parents of children with ADHD; control group: n = 181 parents of children without ADHD) were analyzed separately for both groups using moderation analyses. Results showed that negative dyadic coping significantly moderated the association between parenting stress and relationship quality in parents of children with ADHD, such that the link was positive, when negative dyadic coping was low. No comparable results were found in the control group. With respect to positive dyadic coping, there were no moderation effects in either group. The findings indicate that stress in parents of children with ADHD may have a favorable effect on the couple relationship if negative dyadic coping is minimized. Therefore, reducing negative dyadic coping could have a beneficial effect on the parents’ relationship quality and ultimately on the overall family climate.

Demand-oriented Cognitive-behavioural Intervention for Couples with Infertility (FERTIFIT): A Pilot Study about Development, Feasibility and Acceptance

The worldwide prevalence for infertility varies between 4-17%, and in western countries about one out of seven couples with child wish is affected. The experience of infertility is associated with a risk for psychological and dyadic distress, which is characterized by partners influencing each other mutually in their individual condition. Nevertheless, there is a gap in psychotherapy supplies for couples suffering from infertility. This pilot study introduces a feasible, demand-oriented and cognitive behavioural couple therapy concept for couples with infertility. It was designed to foster dyadic coping of typical infertility-related problems and thereby to prevent increasing distress. 21 heterosexual couples attended this study in a within-subjects wait list control group design. Depending to the couple's demand, the intervention included 5-10 couple therapy sessions. Psychological and infertility-related distress, couple relationship quality and the application of individual and dyadic resources were assessed by questionnaires at four time points (M1=pre wait control phase, M2=pre intervention, M3=post intervention, M4=post catamnesis). Women reported improved psychological and infertility-related distress, and applied more resources fostering subjective well-being, active coping and emotion regulation. Over the course of the intervention, men reported having experienced more helpful support, and women and men applied more dyadic coping strategies. In the evaluation, women and men reported high satisfaction with the intervention in general and with the support provided. The findings point toward good feasibility and acceptance of this intervention in clinical psychotherapy practice and provide preliminary evidence for possible intended effects. Due to the study's design and limitations, however, the effects cannot be distinctly attributed to the intervention. The strength of the presented study lies in the introduction of a demand-oriented couple therapy concept that is feasible and well employable in clinical practice. A subsequent larger-scale clinical trial with a randomized-controlled study design is necessary to examine and verify the effects.

Review of Research for Intervention on Parental Mental Health, Couple and Family Dynamics, and Parenting Styles as Predictors of Children’s Internalized and Externalized Behaviors

Researchers have been interested in examining factors associated with children’s internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors because of their association with a range of negative child developmental outcomes and future mental health. Internalized problem behaviors include depression and self-isolation while externalized problems include aggressive, hostile and destructive acts. Home environment, specifically parenting, parental mental health and relationship satisfaction of the parents as a couple, are all associated with children’s behavior problems. Research has focused mainly on these factors singularly as predictors of internalized and externalized problems. This paper, using Bronfenbrenner (1979, 1986, 1994), Belsky (1984), and Guralnick’s (2001) models, provides a review of research that examines how home and parental factors, particularly parental mental health and couple relationship quality, interact with each other and influence children’s problem behaviors. The review is concluded with implications suggesting an integrated perspective for intervention and clinical practice informed by Kagitcibasi’s (1996, 2006, 2007) Family Change Model.

Racism-Related Stress, Dyadic Coping, and Relationship Quality in Black Couples

Racism-Related Stress, Dyadic Coping, and Relationship Quality in Black Couples