Effect of marital satisfaction on self-regulation efforts in couples: Value of heart rate variability measurements

The predictive significance of attachment script assessment hyperactivation and deactivation: evidence of associations with romantic relationship functioning

This study examined the significance of a novel coding system for evaluating hyperactivation, deactivation, and anomalous content in the Attachment Script Assessment for romantic relationship functioning. In a sample of 208 couples (69% White, Mage 28.7 years), we tested whether ASA hyperactivation and deactivation were associated with theoretically relevant correlates, including observed behavior, parasympathetic reactivity, self-reported affective reactivity to conflict, and relationship satisfaction. Exploratory analyses examined associations of secure base script knowledge (SBSK) and anomalous content with these outcomes. ASA hyperactivation and deactivation were associated with behavioral, physiological, and self-reported functioning in theory-consistent ways. Anomalous content was not associated with romantic functioning. SBSK was associated with satisfaction, but this was not robust to covariates. Findings support the predictive validity of the hyperactivation and deactivation dimensions and suggest that these scales complement SBSK, enabling researchers to assess a wider range of behavioral and physiological indicators associated with distinctive forms of attachment insecurity.

Emotion dysregulation and couple relationship satisfaction of clinical couples: An actor-partner interdependence model

Despite the pivotal role that emotion regulation is thought to occupy for individual and relational wellbeing, emotion regulation in couples has been surprisingly understudied. With a clinical sample consisting of 275 couples starting therapy from 2017 to 2022, this study sought to clarify the actor and partner effects of clinical couples' emotion dysregulation on relationship satisfaction. Our results showed that, for partners' emotion dysregulation dimensions, while impulse control difficulties, lack of emotional awareness, and limited emotion regulation strategies were negatively predictive of couple relationship satisfaction, nonacceptance of negative emotions had a positive association with relationship satisfaction. Further, compared with other dimensions of emotion dysregulation, female limited emotion regulation strategies were greater predictors of decreased female relationship satisfaction. We also found significant gender differences in partners' emotion dysregulation dimensions and relationship satisfaction. These results show the significance of addressing emotion dysregulation for both partners at intra- and inter-personal levels simultaneously in couple therapy. Notably, the 275 couples in our sample did not report a clinically distressed relationship, though they attended at least one couple therapy session. Clinical implications and directions for future study are discussed.

A Systematic Review of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia in Romantic Relationships

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of the parasympathetic nervous system, has recently gained attention as a physiological component of regulatory processes, social connectedness, and health. Within the context of romantic relationships, studies have operationalized and conceptualized RSA in disparate ways, obscuring a clear pattern of findings. This systematic review synthesizes the rapidly developing literature and clarifies the role of RSA in romantic relationships. We evaluate support for three conceptual hypotheses: (1) resting baseline RSA is associated with better quality relationships; (2) phasic RSA is reflective of changes in threat and connection during couple interactions; and (3) physiological linkage in RSA between romantic partners relates to positive or negative relationship functioning depending on the nature of the linkage (e.g., in-phase vs. antiphase). We identified 26 empirical studies that tested associations between RSA and an index of romantic relationships (i.e., relationship satisfaction). Our findings show that higher RSA is not uniformly "good" for relationships. Higher resting baseline RSA was contemporaneously associated with better quality relationships, yet higher baseline RSA was also unexpectedly associated with relationship violence. Short-term decreases in RSA were found during relationship conflict, though the opposite-phasic increases in RSA during positive romantic partner interactions-was not found due to mixed empirical support. As expected, evidence for RSA linkage was found, though the connection between linkage and relationship functioning depends on the context in which it was measured. We discuss methodological limitations and directions for future research.