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URL: http://ijpcp.iums.ac.ir/article-1-2965-en.html
2- Family Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
1. Introduction
During recent years, research has paid attention to the role of emotion regulation in interpersonal relationships. According to Gross [4], emotion regulation encompasses "the processes by which individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express these emotions" (p. 275). Emotion regulation often takes place in social contexts and both influences and is influenced by our relationships with others. Research indicates that individuals who regulate their emotions more effectively, experience more positive social interactions and less conflict with peers [6]. Given the high levels of intimacy between couple partners, emotion regulation processes are expected to play a pivotal role in marital relationships. Since intimacy requires certain degrees of openness and vulnerability, intimate relationships tend to be emotionally challenging. In order to effectively respond to these challenges, partners need to possess a range of skills, including the ability to identify, appropriately express and manage emotions [7, 8]. Within the context of intimate relationships, each partner’s behaviors, emotional responses, and emotion regulation strategies may act as emotional stimuli for the other partner. Therefore, maintaining an optimal emotional atmosphere in the relationship relies on both partners’ regulatory capacities.
The majority of studies in this field have not taken account of the multidimensional nature of emotion regulation. Based on Gratz and Roemer’s theory, emotion regulation is not limited to controlling emotional responses but rather entails a set of abilities including: a) awareness of emotions, b) clarity of feelings, c) acceptance of emotional experiences, d) impulse control, e) access to emotion regulation strategies, and f) ability to engage in goal-directed behavior while experiencing negative emotions [11]. Some empirical evidence suggests that the dimensions of emotion regulation may independently contribute to the quality of marital relationships. For instance, in an analysis of couple seeking therapy, men and women’s access to emotion regulation strategies was positively associated with their own relationship satisfaction. In addition, women’s higher impulse control predicted more satisfaction for their partners. The study failed to find associations between overall emotion regulation and relationship satisfaction. Despite the valuable insights provided, these results were restricted to a relatively small clinical sample and cannot be generalized to community populations [20].
The present research aimed to investigate the relationship between the multidimensional construct of emotion regulation and marital satisfaction in Iranian couples. Considering the scarcity and inconsistency of evidence regarding gender differences in this domain, the study also attempted to assess the moderating role of gender in the relationship between emotion regulation and marital satisfaction.
2. Method
In light of the interconnected and recursive nature of emotion regulation in the couple context, data were collected and analyzed at a dyadic level. A group of 156 married heterosexual couples located in Tehran were recruited by convenience sampling. Using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), participants rated themselves on 6 aspects of emotion regulation. They also reported their degree of relationship satisfaction by responding to the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). This study is among the first in Iran to use the Actor Partner Interdependence model (APIM). Actor and partner effects and the effects of gender (as the distinguishing variable) were estimated by Structural Equation Modeling.
3. Results
As displayed in Figure 1, both men and women’s ability to regulate emotions predicted their own and their partner’s relationship satisfaction. The model accounted respectively for 25% and 20% of the variation in women and men’s marital satisfaction.
Estimated actor and partner effects for each of the emotion regulation dimensions are presented in Table 1. It can be seen that women’s scores in all 6 aspects of emotion regulation and men’s scores in all aspects except from “awareness” predicted their own relationship satisfaction. Men’s acceptance of emotions, goal-directed behavior, impulse control, and access to emotion regulation strategies was positively associated with their wives’ satisfaction. Women’s impulse control, access to regulation strategies, and clarity of emotions was predictive of their husbands’ relationship satisfaction.
The test of the interactions of gender with the actor effect was not statistically significant, chi square (1) = 1.518 (p = .218), and the test of the interactions of gender with the partner effect was also not statistically significant, chi square (1) = 0.007 (p = .932). The combined test of the interactions of gender with both the actor and partner effects was not significant either, chi square (2) = 3.668 (p = .160). Therefore, the analyses did not support a moderating role for gender.
4. Discussion
Findings supported the hypothesis that emotion regulation is positively associated with self and partner marital satisfaction. The results are in line with previous research highlighting the effects of emotion regulation on the quality of relationships [10, 20, 40]. While Bloch et al. and Rick et al. found partner effects of emotion regulation only for women [10, 20], in the present study significant partner effects were traced for both women and men. Hence the results emphasize the interconnectedness between partners in the domain of emotions. Since gender did not moderate the relationships between emotion regulation and marital satisfaction, men and women’s emotion regulation abilities appear to be to the same extent predictive of their own and their partner’s satisfaction.
Based on their clinical observations, Levenson et al. state that although couples seeking professional help present different issues, almost all of them struggle with some kind of problem with the regulation of positive or negative emotions [9]. Many approaches to psychotherapy, including mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies and emotion focused therapy, focus on problems with emotions and emotion regulation [13, 50, 51]. The present study found significant relationships between dimensions of emotion regulation and marital satisfaction, pointing to the importance of understanding emotion regulation as a multidimensional construct. In the assessment of couple problems, paying attention to the different dimensions of emotion regulation could help therapists determine specific intervention targets.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The participants were informed about the aims and guidelines of the study. Questionnaires were coded and placed in individual envelopes in order to ensure the anonymity and confidentiality of obtained data. All subjects signed a written informed consent form.
Funding
This study did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies of the public or nonprofit sectors.
Authors contributions
Conceptualization, validation, review and editing: all authors; Methodology, data analysis, resources, writing: Fatemeh Riahi; Supervision: Mahmoud Golzari, Fereshteh Mootabi.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to all the participants involved in this research.
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Received: 2019/01/30 | Accepted: 2019/09/28 | Published: 2020/04/1
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