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Published on: September 16, 2015
Uncertainty Management in Sexual Communication: Testing the Moderating Role of Marital Quality, Relational Closeness,
Kai Kuang1, Patricia E Gettings2
1Department of Communication Studies, Bloomsburg University.
Abstract:
Romantic partners' communication about sex has been shown to enhance marital satisfaction and well-being, yet is often associated with high levels of uncertainty due to the challenging and potentially face-threatening topics involved in such discussion. While much literature focuses on sexual health information seeking, relational partners' uncertainty management related to sexual satisfaction has not been examined. This study focused on married couples' discussion of sexual satisfaction, tested the theory of motivated information management (TMIM; Afifi & Weiner, 2004) within this context, and examined relational moderators that could influence relational partners' communication about sexual satisfaction. Data from 248 married participants suggested that TMIM effectively predicted five different information management strategies, including direct and indirect information seeking, avoidance, cognitive reappraisal, and disclosure, although the processes through which uncertainty discrepancy influenced information management differed depending on the information management strategy. Furthermore, results indicated relational factors such as marital quality, relational closeness, and communal coping moderated TMIM paths in distinct ways. Theoretical and practical implications for relational partners' uncertainty management about sexual satisfaction are discussed.
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