Let it be: expatriate couples' adjustment and the upside of avoiding conflicts

This research examines the moderating effect of conflict avoidance on the relationship between conflict and psychological adjustment among 45 expatriate couples at two points in time. We propose a model based on the actor-partner interdependence model, which assumes both intrapersonal and interperso...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anxiety, stress, and coping stress, and coping, 2011-10, Vol.24 (5), p.539-560
Main Authors: van Erp, Kim J.P.M., Giebels, Ellen, van der Zee, Karen I., van Duijn, Marijtje A.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Adjustment
Adult
Avoidance
Biological and medical sciences
Conflict
conflict avoidance
Couple and family
Couples
dyadic interaction
Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology
Emotional Abuse
expatriate couples
Expatriates
Family Conflict - psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Middle Aged
psychological adjustment
Psychological Tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Role
Social psychology
Spouses
Spouses - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors
Young Adult
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Summary:This research examines the moderating effect of conflict avoidance on the relationship between conflict and psychological adjustment among 45 expatriate couples at two points in time. We propose a model based on the actor-partner interdependence model, which assumes both intrapersonal and interpersonal effects, to address simultaneously the effects of one's own and the other's avoidance behavior. We found substantial support for our model, especially for expatriate spouses. As expected, and only for expatriate spouses, avoidance moderated the conflict-adjustment relationship such that both one's own and one's counterpart's avoidance behavior diminished the negative effect of conflicts. Because these effects were observed only at T2 and psychological adjustment decreased from T1 to T2, our research suggests that the impact of expatriation-associated interaction particularly manifests itself in the long run.
ISSN:1061-5806
1477-2205
DOI:10.1080/10615806.2011.571768