Intimacy and Need Fulfillment in Couple Relationships

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to explore the following questions: (i) does intimacy, within the context of a couple relationship, contribute to individual need fulfillment?; (ii) does self-disclosure have beneficial effects on need fulfillment without being accompanied by intimacy's others dimensions: positive affective tone and partner listening and understanding?; and (iii) does intimacy's impact on need fulfillment mediate its relationship with physical and psychological well-being? For the first study, 154 commuter university students completed questionnaire measures of well-being and the Need Fulfillment Inventory (NFI), a new paper-and-pencil test that assesses the agentic and communal dimensions of need fulfillment. Results from study 1 showed positive correlations between both agentic and communal need fulfillment and well-being. For the second study, 133 cohabiting couples were asked to complete the NFI, two measures of relational intimacy, five measures of well-being, and to keep a daily record of their interactions for a week. Factor analyses of the daily record data revealed three dimensions of verbally intimate interaction: positive affective tone, daily self-disclosure, and listening and understanding. Results supported the notion that relational intimacy, assessed globally and as a characteristic of the couples' daily interactions, is positively associated with individual need fulfillment. Self-disclosure's impact on need fulfillment was found to vary as a function of the other dimensions of intimacy present in the interactions. The pattern of moderation between self-disclosure and other dimensions of intimacy was not exactly as predicted, however; sometimes, self-disclosure may soften the detrimental effects of negative interactions on need fulfillment. Finally, the mediational hypothesis was mostly supported, which indicates that intimacy's relationship to psychological well-being is most likely accounted for by its effects on individual need fulfillment. Need fulfillment did not fully mediate the relationship between intimacy and depressive symptoms.

Psychosocial Adjustment and Marital Intimacy Among Partners of Patients with Breast Cancer: A Comparison Study with Partners of Healthy Women

“…Research has shown that intimacy is related to several positive aspects of a relationship, such as greater marital satisfaction (Greeff & Malherbe, 2001;Prager, 1995) and improvements in the psychological and physical health of each element of the dyad (Prager, 1995;Prager & Buhrmester, 1998). Prager (1995) argued that intimate relationships buffer the pathogenic effects of stress and provide several mental and physical health benefits.…”

“…Although the literature has consistently shown that marital intimacy has beneficial effects on individual health and well-being (Prager, 1995;Prager & Buhrmester, 1998) regardless of the presence or absence of a stressful life situation, a moderating effect of the group was found: the associations between marital intimacy and psychosocial adjustment were significant only among the partners of breast cancer patients (with the exception of social QoL, which was also related to intimacy among the partners of healthy woman, although the regression slope was much less pronounced). These results can be explained in the context of a life-threatening disease because intimate relationships, such as the marital relationship, often assume a more powerful role in determining individual well-being than in situations that lack such a threat (Bolger, Foster, Vinokur, & Ng, 1996).…”

Romantic Relationships and Love

“…Örneğin Prager ve Buhremester yakın ilişkide kendini açmayı ele almışlardır. [54] Araştırmada kendini açmanın bilme-bilinme ve duyguları ifade etme gibi gereksinim giderici bir işlevi olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır. Romantik ilişkilerde çatışma olgusunu araştıran Hojjat cinsiyetler arasında çatışma konusunda anlamlı bir farklılık bulmuştur.…”

The longer your work hours, the worse your relationship? The role of selective optimization with compensation in the associations of working time with relationship satisfaction and self-disclosure in dual-career couples

“…'I express a need, wish, or want') from the self-disclosure scale of Prager and Buhrmester (1998). Cronbach's alpha was .82 at Time 1 and .85 at Time 2.…”