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Desired change in couples: gender differences and effects on communication.
Richard E Heyman1, Ashley N Hunt-Martorano, Jill Malik
1Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA. Richard.Heyman@Stonybrook.edu
Summary
Married couples with young children desire relationship changes, with women seeking more emotional support and men seeking more intimacy. Individual relationship satisfaction predicts desired changes, but partner satisfaction does not. Communication patterns reveal women are more negative during discussions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Family Studies
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Marital satisfaction is linked to relationship dynamics and individual well-being.
- Understanding desired changes and negotiation strategies is crucial for relationship health.
- Parenting roles and couple interactions influence relationship adjustment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine desired changes in married couples with young children.
- To investigate the link between relationship adjustment and desired changes.
- To analyze how partners negotiate changes within the relationship.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed 453 married couples with children aged 3-7 using the Areas of Change Questionnaire.
- Employed the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to analyze relationship adjustment and desired change.
- Observed couples discussing desired changes to assess negotiation behaviors.
Main Results:
- Women desired more emotional, companionate, instrumental support, and parenting involvement from partners; men desired more sexual intimacy.
- Individual relationship adjustment predicted desired changes for both partners (actor effects).
- Partner adjustment did not significantly predict desired changes (partner effects).
- Couples exhibited more positive behavior during partner-initiated discussions than self-initiated ones.
- Women displayed more negative behaviors than men in both their own and their partner's initiated conversations.
Conclusions:
- Relationship adjustment is a significant predictor of an individual's desired changes.
- Gender differences exist in the types of changes desired within marriage.
- Communication dynamics during change discussions are influenced by who initiates the conversation and by gender.
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