Building happier bonds: gratitude as a mediator between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in romantic couples
IntroductionGratitude has been found to be relevant for relational well-being, and there has been ongoing interest in uncovering the mechanisms by which gratitude functions in interpersonal relationships. Only recently, gratitude has been studied within the context of dyadic coping—the interpersonal...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1452397/full |
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| author | Michelle Roth Nicolas Good Thomas Ledermann Selina A. Landolt Katharina Weitkamp Guy Bodenmann |
| author_facet | Michelle Roth Nicolas Good Thomas Ledermann Selina A. Landolt Katharina Weitkamp Guy Bodenmann |
| author_sort | Michelle Roth |
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| description | IntroductionGratitude has been found to be relevant for relational well-being, and there has been ongoing interest in uncovering the mechanisms by which gratitude functions in interpersonal relationships. Only recently, gratitude has been studied within the context of dyadic coping—the interpersonal process of how partners communicate their stress, support each other during stressful times, and jointly cope with stress—in romantic couples. Drawing up on theoretical models on the functions of gratitude within close relationships and previous research, we aimed to advance this line of research and examined the potential mediating role of gratitude between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction applying a dyadic perspective. For a more nuanced understanding of gratitude, we differentiated between felt and expressed dyadic coping-related gratitude.MethodsWe used data of 163 romantic mixed-gender couples living in Switzerland. To examine the mediation model dyadically, we applied the Actor Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM).ResultsWhile in the presence of gratitude as a mediator, almost no significant direct effects from dyadic coping on relationship satisfaction were found, evidence pointed to a mediating role of gratitude within this process: Provided dyadic coping was related to higher gratitude, which was in turn related to higher own and partner relationship satisfaction. The results were similar for felt and expressed dyadic coping-related gratitude.DiscussionThe finding that gratitude plays an important mediating role within the dyadic coping process offers important future directions for research as well as preventative and clinical work with couples. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-04b835c2eda44d2d808c316061ee35bf |
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| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| spelling | doaj-art-04b835c2eda44d2d808c316061ee35bf2025-08-20T01:59:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782024-12-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.14523971452397Building happier bonds: gratitude as a mediator between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in romantic couplesMichelle Roth0Nicolas Good1Thomas Ledermann2Selina A. Landolt3Katharina Weitkamp4Guy Bodenmann5Clinical Psychology for Children/Adolescents and Couples/Families, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandClinical Psychology for Children/Adolescents and Couples/Families, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Human Development and Family Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United StatesClinical Psychology for Children/Adolescents and Couples/Families, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandClinical Psychology for Children/Adolescents and Couples/Families, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandClinical Psychology for Children/Adolescents and Couples/Families, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandIntroductionGratitude has been found to be relevant for relational well-being, and there has been ongoing interest in uncovering the mechanisms by which gratitude functions in interpersonal relationships. Only recently, gratitude has been studied within the context of dyadic coping—the interpersonal process of how partners communicate their stress, support each other during stressful times, and jointly cope with stress—in romantic couples. Drawing up on theoretical models on the functions of gratitude within close relationships and previous research, we aimed to advance this line of research and examined the potential mediating role of gratitude between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction applying a dyadic perspective. For a more nuanced understanding of gratitude, we differentiated between felt and expressed dyadic coping-related gratitude.MethodsWe used data of 163 romantic mixed-gender couples living in Switzerland. To examine the mediation model dyadically, we applied the Actor Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM).ResultsWhile in the presence of gratitude as a mediator, almost no significant direct effects from dyadic coping on relationship satisfaction were found, evidence pointed to a mediating role of gratitude within this process: Provided dyadic coping was related to higher gratitude, which was in turn related to higher own and partner relationship satisfaction. The results were similar for felt and expressed dyadic coping-related gratitude.DiscussionThe finding that gratitude plays an important mediating role within the dyadic coping process offers important future directions for research as well as preventative and clinical work with couples.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1452397/fullromantic relationshipscouplesgratitudedyadic copingrelationship satisfactionactor partner interdependence mediation model |
| spellingShingle | Michelle Roth Nicolas Good Thomas Ledermann Selina A. Landolt Katharina Weitkamp Guy Bodenmann Building happier bonds: gratitude as a mediator between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in romantic couples Frontiers in Psychology romantic relationships couples gratitude dyadic coping relationship satisfaction actor partner interdependence mediation model |
| title | Building happier bonds: gratitude as a mediator between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in romantic couples |
| title_full | Building happier bonds: gratitude as a mediator between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in romantic couples |
| title_fullStr | Building happier bonds: gratitude as a mediator between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in romantic couples |
| title_full_unstemmed | Building happier bonds: gratitude as a mediator between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in romantic couples |
| title_short | Building happier bonds: gratitude as a mediator between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in romantic couples |
| title_sort | building happier bonds gratitude as a mediator between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction in romantic couples |
| topic | romantic relationships couples gratitude dyadic coping relationship satisfaction actor partner interdependence mediation model |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1452397/full |
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