Effects of Love Styles on Marital Satisfaction in Heterosexual Couples: A Dyadic Approach

The main objective of this study was to test Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIM) describing the relationship between wives' and husbands' love styles and marital satisfaction within heterosexual couples (n=146 couples). Love styles (i.e., Eros, Ludus, Storge, Mania, Pragma, Agape) were set out in Lee's theory of love, which defines love as an attitude, meaning a predisposition to think, feel, and behave toward one's partner. Six APIMs representing each love style were tested using a path analysis procedure. Length of marriage and wives' and husbands' depressive moods were entered into the models as control variables. The results revealed that among the love styles, only Eros contributed to marital satisfaction for both men and women. However, our results showed that wives' Eros style had a positive impact on husbands' marital satisfaction, whereas husbands' Eros style did not influence wives' marital satisfaction.     

A Dyadic Approach to Pornography Use and Relationship Satisfaction Among Heterosexual Couples: The Role of Pornography Acceptance and Anxious Attachment

The majority of research on pornography use within committed relationships has found such use to be associated with negative outcomes. However, given the variability in pornography use among couples, the current study sought to examine moderators in the association between pornography use and relationship satisfaction in a large sample of heterosexual matched-paired couples (N = 6,626). Actor–partner interdependence models (APIMs) revealed that for men who are more anxiously attached, more pornography use is associated with higher relationship satisfaction; whereas for women who are more anxiously attached, more pornography use is associated with lower relationship satisfaction. For men who are more accepting of pornography, more pornography use is associated with more relationship satisfaction; however, for men who are less accepting of pornography, more pornography use is associated with less relationship satisfaction. There was little difference in relationship satisfaction at differing levels of pornography use for women who are high in pornography acceptance. For women who are low in pornography acceptance, pornography use is associated with less relationship satisfaction. Results are discussed and recommendations for practitioners are made through the lens of symbolic interaction theory.     

Dyadic Playfulness Differences Between Sexual and Marital Therapy Couples

Thirty-three clinical couples (17 sex therapy and 16 marital therapy) and fifty non-clinical couples were examined for potential differences in relationship playfulness utilizing the Couples Play Questionnaire. For clinical couples, Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and Edmond's Marital Conventionalization Scale scores were also comparcd. Both sex therapy and marital therapy couples were found to be deficient in play compared to non-clinical couples, while marital therapy couples were found to be most deficient. Greater marital conventionalization scores were found for sex therapy couples suggesting that they favorably distort their self-assessmcnts. Results suggest that sex therapy couples may be the more inflexible of the three sample groups and may need therapeutic assistance with general relationship play as well as sexual play.     

Sexual Satisfaction and Relationship Satisfaction in Dating Couples

Abstract

This study assessed the merits of an amended Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction (IEMSS; Lawrance & Byers, 1992, 1995) that includes a measure of relationship communality, a construct not adequately captured by existing exchange models of sexual/relationship satisfaction. A total of 189 undergraduates (102 female) in sexually active dating relationships completed measures of sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, favorability of sexual exchanges, and the extent to which their romantic relationships were characterized by mutually communal behaviors (i.e., relationship communality). Analyses revealed that relationship communality made a small but unique contribution to sexual satisfaction and a large contribution to relationship satisfaction, even after controlling for sexual satisfaction and favorability of sexual exchanges. Implications for understanding the dynamics of sexually active dating relationships are discussed.     

Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction associated with Shifts in Dyadic Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms in German Couples across Four Years

Depression is a pervasive mental health concern; thus, it is important to identify modifiable factors associated with reducing depressive symptoms across time. Using 1,876 heterosexual couples assessed annually across 4 years from the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (Pairfam) study, time‐varying covariate growth models tested if sexual and relationship satisfaction were linked with shifts in trajectories of depressive symptoms across time. For both men and women, higher sexual and relationship satisfaction scores were significantly associated with decreasing their own depressive symptom trajectories, but only relationship satisfaction was linked with their partners’ depressive symptom trajectories. Potential clinical implications include the treatment of depressive symptoms by making changes across time in their own relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction.     

Degree and Direction of Sexual Desire Discrepancy are Linked to Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples Transitioning to Parenthood

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.     

Attachment,Conflict Resolution,and Sexual Satisfaction in Adoptive Couples

Abstract

Attachment theory affirms that one’s partner is vital to fostering support and security. It is important for adoptive couples to be mindful of this support because it is at the forefront of healthy family functioning. With a sample of adoptive couples (n?=?166), this study examines the influence of attachment style on conflict resolution and sexual satisfaction. Significant findings indicate that an avoidant attachment style is directly associated with lower conflict resolution and sexual satisfaction. Better conflict resolution significantly predicts greater sexual satisfaction. These findings demonstrate the importance of establishing a more secure romantic attachment in clinical work with adoptive couples.     

Sexual Satisfaction Among Couples: The Role of Attachment Orientation and Sexual Motives

The mediating effect of sexual motives between attachment orientation and sexual satisfaction and functioning was investigated among 128 couples (N = 256) using the actor-partner interdependence model (Campbell & Kashy, 2002). Actor effects between attachment orientation and sexual satisfaction and functioning, mediated by sexual motives, were found regarding men’s sexual satisfaction, sexual intimacy, and orgasmic responsivity. Partner effect revealed two significant paths in which the greater the women’s attachment avoidance, the lower the partners’ intimacy motivation, which in turn was linked with lower partners’ sexual satisfaction and increased lack of sexual intimacy. The analyses did not reveal significant mediation paths affecting women’s sexual satisfaction and functioning. These findings emphasize the importance of implementing a dyadic perspective on sexuality within practice. Recommendations for further research and additional clinical implications are discussed.     

Dyadic Cross-Sectional Associations Between Depressive Mood,Relationship Satisfaction,and Common Dyadic Coping

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the mediational role of common dyadic coping in the links between depressive mood and relationship satisfaction. We estimated two competing Actor–Partner Mediator Models, in which the dyad is the highest unit of analysis. The first model specified dyadic coping as a mediator in the association between relationship satisfaction and depression, whereas the second model specified dyadic coping as a mediator between depression and relationship satisfaction. Analyzing data from 198 couples, our findings provided a plausible approximation of the second model, representing the interactional model of depression. They showed that common dyadic coping mediates the link between depression and relationship satisfaction for men only.     

Differences Between Partners From Heterosexual,Gay, and Lesbian Cohabiting Couples

Partners from four types of couples without children (gay unmarried, lesbian unmarried, heterosexual unmarried, and heterosexual married, Ns=1,412, 1,310, 1,036, and 1,728, respectively) were compared to partners from heterosexual married couples with children (N =3,116) on mean levels of variables from a model of relationship adjustment as well as on the strength of links posited by the model. Although 82% of the mean‐level comparisons were significant, only 36% of the comparisons had effect sizes that were at least small in strength. Type of couple affected links between variables in only 33% of the instances, with effect sizes trivial in strength. Findings support the view that despite variability in structure, close dyadic relationships work in similar ways.     

Associations Between Prior Deployments and Marital Satisfaction Among Army Couples

Although the experience of deployments has been described as devastating to married life, evidence linking deployments directly to poorer marital functioning has been sparse. The analyses described in this article compare associations between prior deployments and current marital satisfaction across four different ways of measuring prior deployment within a large and representative sample of married Army service members and their spouses. Results indicate that the experience of prior deployments is associated with significantly lower current marital satisfaction among military couples. The association is disproportionately strong for first deployments and first cumulative months of deployment and weakens over subsequent deployment experiences. Most of these associations, but not all, can be accounted for by the fact that service members who have been deployed are more likely to have experienced traumatic events and to experience posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, both of which are independently associated with lower levels of marital satisfaction.     

Relationship Risks in Context: A Cumulative Risk Approach to Understanding Relationship Satisfaction

Risks associated with less satisfying intimate relationships often co‐occur within individuals, raising questions about approaches that consider only their independent impact. Utilizing the cumulative risk model, which acknowledges the natural covariation of risk factors, this study examined individuals in intimate relationships using the Florida Family Formation Survey (n = 2,876) and a replication sample (n = 1,048). Analyses confirmed that not only was relationship satisfaction lower among those with more risks, but the cumulative risk score was predictive above and beyond the individual risk factors. Furthermore, experiencing multiple risks exacerbated the negative associations between individual risks and relationship satisfaction, suggesting that the operation of a risk factor in a relationship is moderated by the presence or absence of other risks.     

Dyadic Adjustment and Community Involvement in Same-Sex Couples

This study examines the effects of age and involvement in the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community on dyadic adjustment in 62 male and 54 female same-sex couples. Participants completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976) and scales of political and social involvement in the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community based on Peplau and Cochran (1981). Those in midlife (35 years and older) had significantly lower conflict in matters of affection and sex than those younger (less than 35 years old). Political involvement interacted significantly with gender and age in predicting dyadic consensus scores: Among younger women, greater political involvement was associated with higher dyadic consensus. Inter-partner differences in social involvement were significantly associated with greater dyadic conflict in sex and affection. Inter-partner dyadic adjustment and community involvement scores were positively correlated, in general. Findings support the importance of age in the study of same-sex couples. The implications for conceptualizations of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities and dyadic adjustment are discussed.     

Sexual Distress Mediates the Associations Between Sexual Contingent Self-Worth and Well-Being in Women With Genitopelvic Pain: A Dyadic Daily Experience Study

Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD), a common cause of women’s genitopelvic pain, is associated with poorer psychological and sexual well-being in affected couples. Greater sexual contingent self-worth (CSW)—defined as self-esteem that is dependent on the perceived success or failure of a sexual relationship—has been linked to poorer well-being in a cross-sectional study of couples coping with PVD. This study aimed to examine whether daily sexual distress mediated the associations between greater sexual CSW and lower sexual satisfaction and greater anxiety, depressed mood, and women’s pain in affected couples. Women (N = 125) diagnosed with PVD and their partners completed the Sexual CSW Scale and then online daily surveys for eight weeks measuring sexual distress, sexual satisfaction, anxiety, depressed mood, and women’s pain during intercourse. Multilevel analyses were based on the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM). For women who had higher sexual CSW (compared to lower sexual CSW), on sexual activity days when their sexual distress was higher, they reported lower sexual satisfaction and greater anxiety, depressed mood, and pain (compared to their average level across all sexual activity days). Findings suggest that daily sexual distress may be one pathway between greater sexual CSW and poorer day-to-day well-being in women with PVD.     

Gay,Lesbian, and Heterosexual Couples About to Begin Couples Therapy: An Online Relationship Assessment of 40,681 Couples

We currently have little idea of precisely who goes for couples therapy. This is a report of the results of a validated online assessment of relationship and individual functioning based on 39,251 heterosexual, 1,022 lesbian, and 438 gay couples about to begin couples therapy. Using validated and reliable questionnaires of relationship and individual functioning, this report presents and compares, for each sexual-orientation, the percentage of couples, pre-therapy, who are coping with a variety of relationship problems. To test for the replicability of results, the sample was divided randomly into two subsamples and statistical tests were performed on each sample. Couples initiating therapy suffer from greater distress and many more co-morbidities than has been presumed in previous literature, and same-sex couples present a particular set of both strengths and challenges compared to heterosexual couples. Gay-male and lesbian couples were very different on trust and monogamy, as were heterosexual and lesbian couples. Based on this epidemiologically sized sample, the challenge to our field may be to create interventions with much larger effect sizes than we currently have.     

Trends in Parental Monitoring and Knowledge Over Time Between Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Girls

This study assessed whether trajectories of parental monitoring components were different for sexual minority girls (SMGs) compared to heterosexual girls. We recruited 14–19‐year‐old girls from two adolescent medicine clinics. We estimated growth curve models to compare how components of parental monitoring—adolescent disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental knowledge—changed over 2 years for SMGs and heterosexual girls. SMGs and heterosexual girls had similar trajectory slopes and quadratic forms of adolescent disclosure, but SMGs had consistently lower adolescent disclosure scores. Parental knowledge trajectories indicated differential intercepts and slopes for SMGs compared to heterosexual girls, suggesting potential higher risk for maladaptive behaviors. Results of this study suggest that parental monitoring may operate differently over time for SMGs compared to heterosexual girls.     

The risk of Telling: A Dyadic Perspective on Romantic Partners’ Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure and Their Associations with Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction

Among 70 community couples who reported childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and disclosure to their partner, this study examined associations between survivors’ perception of partner responses to their disclosure, and both partners’ sexual and relationship satisfaction. Participants completed self‐report questionnaires online. Results of path analyses within an actor–partner interdependence model indicated that survivors’ perceived partner responses of emotional support to disclosure were associated with their own and their partners’ higher sexual satisfaction. Survivors’ perceived responses of being stigmatized/treated differently by the partner were associated with their own and their partners’ poorer relationship satisfaction. Findings suggest that survivor‐perceived partner responses to the disclosure of CSA can have a positive and a negative impact on the sexual and relationship satisfaction of both partners.     

A Systems-Developmental Approach to Counselling Couples with Sexual Problems: Part I — Theoretical Framework

We present a two part model for the understanding and treatment of long-standing sexual problems, especially those involving desire discrepancy between partners. In Part I, a theoretical model is outlined in terms of the normal developmental patterns of relationship development in current Western culture. We then discuss the balances and imbalances that develop as a consequence of differences in styles of loving, which affect sexual expectations and behaviour. In Part II we will examine the implications of the theoretical model for therapeutic intervention.     

Family Functioning and Depression in Low-Income Latino Couples

Although extensive research has found a strong relationship between poor family functioning and depression, previous research has not examined this relationship among low-income Latinos. In this study, we examined how family functioning may be associated with depression in a sample of low-income Latino couples. In addition, we examined how acculturative stress moderates the relationship between family functioning and depression. Our results indicate that the relationship between family functioning and depression is stronger in women and that acculturative stress moderates this relationship in women. Probing this interaction indicates that women who reported high acculturative stress coupled with poor family functioning experienced more depression. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Educational Assortative Mating and Income Dynamics in Couples: A Longitudinal Dyadic Perspective

The question of how educational assortative mating may transform couples' lives and within‐family gender inequality has gained increasing attention. Using 25 waves (1979–2012) of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and longitudinal multilevel dyad models, this study investigated how educational assortative mating shapes income dynamics in couples during the marital life course. Couples were grouped into three categories—educational hypergamy (wives less educated than their husbands), homogamy, and hypogamy (wives more educated than their husbands). Results show that change in husbands' income with marital duration is similar across couples, whereas change in wives' income varies by educational assortative mating, with wives in educational hypogamy exhibiting more positive change in income during the marital life course. The finding that husbands' long‐term economic advancement is less affected than that of wives by educational assortative mating underscores the gender‐asymmetric nature of spousal influence in heterosexual marriages.