Considerable heterogeneity has been observed in couples’ adjustment to the transition to parenthood (TTP). One potential yet understudied predictor of emotional adjustment to the TTP is the new ...parents’ capacity for regulation. A widely accepted biological marker of this capacity is respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), which is closely tied to parasympathetic activation. In the present work, we sought to examine the role of tonic RSA and RSA reactivity as possible protective dyadic factors in the TTP. As part of a larger study, we recruited a sample (N = 100) of TTP couples. At 15 weeks postpartum, the couples took part in a lab session during which their RSA was assessed both at rest (tonic RSA) and during four affiliative dyadic interactions (RSA reactivity). Following this session, couples completed daily diaries over a period of 3 weeks, reporting their daily levels of negative affect and stress. A Multivariate Actor Partner Interdependence Model was used to examine the extent to which each partner's RSA predicted their own and their partner's negative affect (NA) level, as well as NA stress‐reactivity (i.e., the strength of the within‐person stress‐affect association). New mothers’ tonic RSA predicted their own lower NA level and NA stress‐reactivity; both their tonic RSA and RSA reactivity predicted their (male) partners’ lower NA level; and finally, new fathers’ tonic RSA and RSA reactivity predicted their (female) partners’ lower NA stress‐reactivity. These results suggest that RSA may serve as a personal and dyadic protective factor.
This is the first longitudinal study testing partners’ RSA as a dyadic protective factor in the transition to parenthood. We found that new parents’ RSA is associated with both their own and their partners’ adaptive emotional adjustment—namely, lower negative affect and weaker negative affect stress‐reactivity. These dyadic findings may help identify possible risk versus resilience factors among new parents.
Emotion differentiation, the extent to which same-valenced emotions are experienced as distinct, has been found to be associated with various positive outcomes. However, little is known about its ...role in relational contexts. The present work examines couples in the transition to parenthood, a particularly emotionally demanding period, and explores the associations between emotion differentiation and both concurrent (3-month post-partum) and prospective (6-month post-partum) relationship quality adjusting for pre-partum relationship quality. Both negative emotion differentiation (NED) and positive emotion differentiation (PED) were computed from daily affect ratings completed over 21 days by both partners in 88 couples. They were then examined as predictors of relationship quality (relationship satisfaction and perceived partner responsiveness) using actor–partner interdependence models. NED was found to be concurrently associated with elevated perceived partner responsiveness for one’s self and for one’s partner, and with elevated relationship satisfaction when the partner’s NED was low. Positive emotion differentiation was found to be concurrently associated with relationship satisfaction for one’s self and one’s partner. Prospectively, partner NED and partner PED were associated with greater relationship satisfaction. The findings suggest that NED may function as a compensatory or shared dyadic resource, and that PED, whose effects in previous studies have been mixed, may also be constructive. Individuals undergoing emotionally demanding periods (such as the transition to parenthood) may benefit from developing more nuanced emotional experiences.
Daily Support Equity in Romantic Couples Bar-Kalifa, Eran; Pshedetzky-Shochat, Rony; Rafaeli, Eshkol ...
Social psychological & personality science,
09/2018, Letnik:
9, Številka:
7
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Receiving support may yield negative outcomes, although these can be offset by reciprocating support. Here, we argue that support receipt and reciprocation should be considered with reference to two ...separate needs, for relatedness/communion and competence/agency, which underlie differential effects of equity on affective versus relational outcomes. To test these, we go beyond earlier studies by (a) examining equity along a (daily) continuum, (b) using the novel analytic approach of polynomial regression with response surface analyses, and (c) indexing equity from both monadic and dyadic perspectives. Using dyadic daily diaries (N
Days = 35, N
Couples = 80), we found personal outcomes (positive affect PA and negative affect NA) to be worst on inequitable days, particularly overbenefit ones. In contrast, equity did not play the same role with regard to relational outcomes (closeness/satisfaction), for which overbenefit proved more positive. Interestingly, the monadic and dyadic perspectives converged more with personal than with relational outcomes.
Hope is a mental resource and a robust predictor of well-being, which allows individuals to better cope with hardship. Little is known about dyadic hope - i.e., hope serving as a joint resource ...within intimate relationships. We examined dyadic hope in a sample of 100 couples in early parenthood, a challenging though common phase in couples' lives. Three months after becoming parents, both partners completed daily diaries for 3 weeks, reporting their daily hope, stressors, and three types of outcomes: individual, relational, and parental. Using multilevel actor-partner interdependence models, we found that greater hope (both daily and person-level) was positively associated with better actor and partner outcomes of all three kinds. Additionally, hope buffered various daily stressors. Our results show that hope is a personal and shared resource for couples in this pivotal juncture, and thus may constitute a target for future interventions.
Daily Support Equity in Romantic Couples Bar-Kalifa Eran; Pshedetzky-Shochat Rony; Eshkol, Rafaeli ...
Social psychological & personality science,
09/2018, Letnik:
9, Številka:
7
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Receiving support may yield negative outcomes, although these can be offset by reciprocating support. Here, we argue that support receipt and reciprocation should be considered with reference to two ...separate needs, for relatedness/communion and competence/agency, which underlie differential effects of equity on affective versus relational outcomes. To test these, we go beyond earlier studies by (a) examining equity along a (daily) continuum, (b) using the novel analytic approach of polynomial regression with response surface analyses, and (c) indexing equity from both monadic and dyadic perspectives. Using dyadic daily diaries (NDays = 35, NCouples = 80), we found personal outcomes (positive affect PA and negative affect NA) to be worst on inequitable days, particularly overbenefit ones. In contrast, equity did not play the same role with regard to relational outcomes (closeness/satisfaction), for which overbenefit proved more positive. Interestingly, the monadic and dyadic perspectives converged more with personal than with relational outcomes.
Empathic accuracy
, the ability to infer another person’s emotions, thoughts, and other fleeting mental states, has been linked to
assumed similarity
(wherein the perceiver assumes that another ...person’s mental states are similar to their own) and
direct accuracy
(wherein the perceiver uses various external cues to reach their judgment). Previous research has linked this component model, as well as dual process models, to neuroscientific models of empathy, but has not linked these components with dual process accounts directly. Thus, we examined whether assumed similarity involves rapid (type-1) processing while direct accuracy involves slower (type-2) inferences. In three dyadic daily diary samples (total
N
= 262 romantic couples), we examined associations between both components and response times. As expected, direct accuracy, but not assumed similarity, was associated with slower response times. Our findings suggest links between previously disparate lines of research and identify situations which may tip the balance between the empathic components.
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