Relationship Satisfaction and Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Examining the Associations with Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Strategies


Tepeli Temiz Z., Elsharnouby E.

Cognitive Therapy and Research, cilt.46, sa.5, ss.902-915, 2022 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 46 Sayı: 5
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10608-022-10317-w
  • Dergi Adı: Cognitive Therapy and Research
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, PASCAL, BIOSIS, Educational research abstracts (ERA), EMBASE, Psycinfo
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.902-915
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: COVID-19 related stress and anxiety, Interpersonal emotion regulation, Marriage, Relationship satisfaction, Well-being
  • Marmara Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır

Özet

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our interpersonal relationships drastically. However, few research studies have examined pandemic-induced stress and its impact on relationship quality. The current research aimed to examine COVID-19 related stress and anxiety in relation to relationship satisfaction, well-being (i.e., positive affect and life satisfaction), and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies (i.e., perspective-taking, enhancing positive affect, social modeling, and soothing), to understand the effects of pandemic-induced stress on both an individual and a relational well-being. The moderating effect of interpersonal emotion regulation strategies toward COVID-19 related stress was also examined. Methods: The sample consisted of 877 married Turkish adults (Nfemale = 613, Mage = 35.00; Nmale = 264, Mage = 39.21). Data were analyzed with structural equation modeling, and moderation effects were tested. Results: As hypothesized, structural equation modeling revealed that greater COVID-19 related stress was associated with lower well-being, and that this relationship was mediated by relationship satisfaction. Findings indicated that IER strategy of increasing positive emotions was associated with greater relationship satisfaction and well-being. Unexpectedly, interpersonal emotion regulation strategies moderated neither the relationship between COVID-19 related stress and relationship satisfaction nor the relationship between COVID-19 stress and well-being. Conclusions: Our findings support the vulnerability-stress-adaptation framework and draw attention to the importance of examining the effects of COVID-19 stress and relationship satisfaction.