Emotional skillfulness in marriage: Intimacy as a mediator of the relationship between emotional skillfulness and marital satisfaction

We tested the theory that emotional skillfulness, specifically the ability to identify and communicate emotions, plays a role in the maintenance of marital adjustment through its effects on the intimacy process. Ninety-two married couples completed measures of emotional skillfulness, marital adjustm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of social and clinical psychology 2005-03, Vol.24 (2), p.218-235
Main Authors: CORDOVA, James V, GEE, Christina B, WARREN, Lisa Z
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Communication
Couple and family
Emotional styles
Emotions
Expressed emotions
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gender
Intimacy
Marital adjustment
Marital satisfaction
Marriage
Married couples
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Sexual behavior
Skills
Social psychology
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Summary:We tested the theory that emotional skillfulness, specifically the ability to identify and communicate emotions, plays a role in the maintenance of marital adjustment through its effects on the intimacy process. Ninety-two married couples completed measures of emotional skillfulness, marital adjustment, and intimate safety. As predicted, we found that the ability to identify and the ability to communicate emotions were associated with self and partner marital adjustment. Furthermore, the association between these emotion skills and marital adjustment was mediated by intimate safety for both husbands and wives. Gender differences were found in the ability to communicate emotions and in the association between the communication of emotions and partners' marital adjustment. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0736-7236
1943-2771
DOI:10.1521/jscp.24.2.218.62270