Abstract
Couple interventions are limited in their effectiveness for reducing marital distress and dissolution. One explanation for this may be the narrow focus on conflict management and a limited understanding of how other domains in marriage influence one another over time. We present the first test of the relational domain spillover model (RDSM) to understand the extent to which poor functioning in either positive or negative areas of the relationship spill over into other aspects of relationship functioning across time. Husbands and wives reported annually on the quality of five relationship domains (emotional intimacy, sex, support, power/control, and conflict) over the first seven years of marriage. Longitudinal dyadic multilevel modeling techniques were used to examine how domains change over time and how earlier declines in positive areas of couple functioning predict later problems in negative areas of couple functioning and vice versa. We found support for both directions of the RDSM model. Earlier declines in sexuality and support predicted later declines in conflict, and, for wives, earlier declines in couple sexuality were linked to later control issues. Earlier declines in conflict communication and control predicted later problems with emotional intimacy. For men, longitudinal associations between sexuality and conflict, and control, were bidirectional. These findings point to the need to move toward a multi-dimensional, dynamic conceptualization of relationship functioning across time and the importance of focusing on different relational domains as targets for couple interventions.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1229-1247 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Family process |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2022 |
Funding
Collection and analyses of these data were supported by the National Science Foundation\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (2017217558; to the first author), the Swiss National Science Foundation (P2ZHP1_164959; to the second author), and research grants from The University of Iowa (to the third author). We thank Robin A. Barry, Rebecca L. Brock, Mali Bunde, Amie Langer, Eunyoe Ro, Jeung Eun Yoon, Erin Adams, Ashley Anderson, Katie Barnett, Sara Boeding, Jill Buchheit, Jodi Dey, Christina E. Dowd, Sandra Dzankovic, Katherine Conlon Fasselius, Emily Fazio, Emily Georgia, Dailah Hall, Emma Heetland, Deb Moore-Henecke, David Hoak, Matthew Kishinami, Jordan Koster, Lisa Madsen, Lorin Mulryan, Ashley Pederson, Luke Peterson, Polly Peterson, Duyen Pham, Ashley Rink, Jaci Rolffs, Heidi Schwab, Jodi Siebrecht, Abby Waltz, Grace White, Shaun Wilkinson, and Nai-Jiin Yang for their assistance with data collection. Collection and analyses of these data were supported by the National Science Foundation\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (2017217558; to the first author), the Swiss National Science Foundation (P2ZHP1_164959; to the second author), and research grants from The University of Iowa (to the third author). We thank Robin A. Barry, Rebecca L. Brock, Mali Bunde, Amie Langer, Eunyoe Ro, Jeung Eun Yoon, Erin Adams, Ashley Anderson, Katie Barnett, Sara Boeding, Jill Buchheit, Jodi Dey, Christina E. Dowd, Sandra Dzankovic, Katherine Conlon Fasselius, Emily Fazio, Emily Georgia, Dailah Hall, Emma Heetland, Deb Moore\u2010Henecke, David Hoak, Matthew Kishinami, Jordan Koster, Lisa Madsen, Lorin Mulryan, Ashley Pederson, Luke Peterson, Polly Peterson, Duyen Pham, Ashley Rink, Jaci Rolffs, Heidi Schwab, Jodi Siebrecht, Abby Waltz, Grace White, Shaun Wilkinson, and Nai\u2010Jiin Yang for their assistance with data collection.
Keywords
- conflict
- control
- intimacy
- marriage
- sex
- support
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)