The relation between mindfulness and perceived partner responsiveness during couples’ vulnerability discussions.

Khalifian, Chandra E.; Barry, Robin A.

doi:10.1037/fam0000666

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Further, Khalifian and Barry’s (2016, 2021) explorations of trust, attachment, and mindfulness with newlywed couples have discovered a negative relationship between trust and disengagement for individuals who scored low in mindfulness. For Khalifian and Barry, disengagement is characterized by disinterest, inattentiveness, and avoidance, elements that are the inverse of - commonly held components of intimacy and mindfulness.…”

Section: Intimacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Relational mindfulness themes in descriptions of intimate encounters across six interpersonal contexts

Kelley

Nichols

2023

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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A growing body of research suggests that mindfulness is associated with relational processes and outcomes, including intimate behavior and experience. Yet, substantial questions exist as to interpersonal manifestations of intrapsychic mindfulness. The current study used a qualitative approach to explore participant descriptions of intimate experience, across six interpersonal communication contexts (talk, sex, play, grief, conflict, and forgiveness), for evidence of relational mindfulness themes. Using reflexive thematic analysis ( Braun & Clarke, 2022 ) as a guide, analysis produced 10 themes represented by three mindfulness supra-categories: (1) present with - presence, emotional expression, and feeling understood, (2) awareness of - attention, observation, defining, and understanding, (3) nonjudgment by - acceptance, vulnerability, and nonreactivity. All themes were identified in participant responses across the six interpersonal contexts, with the exception of nonreactivity in play and grief. Significantly, these findings broaden the lens with which mindfulness researchers may continue to explore the mindfulness - interpersonal relationship connection.

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Section: Intimacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Relational mindfulness themes in descriptions of intimate encounters across six interpersonal contexts

Kelley

Nichols

2023

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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“…Alternatively, social support discussions have proven to be ways to elicit understanding, concern, and couple dynamics such as shared dyadic coping (Falconier et al, 2015). Social support discussions call for one partner to be supportive as the other presents a personally stressful situation (Cutrona et al, 1997), desired change in oneself (Overall et al, 2010; Sullivan et al, 2010), personal worry or stress (Kuhn et al, 2018; Parkinson et al, 2016), or a situation when they felt insecure or badly (Khalifian & Barry, 2021). The listener’s social support in these conversations is defined broadly, encompassing emotional, informational, and instrumental factors (Cutrona et al, 1997; Sullivan et al, 2010).…”

Section: Couples and Lossmentioning

confidence: 99%

What happens when romantic couples discuss personal loss? Relational, emotional, and physiological impacts.

Margolin¹,

Daspe²,

Timmons³

et al. 2022

Journal of Family Psychology

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Does talking about loss with a romantic partner have salutary personal and relationship effects? Prior evidence reveals the benefits of emotional disclosure in couple relationships, yet disclosure about loss has been overlooked in research on couple communication. Using a novel communication paradigm with young-adult heterosexual romantic partners (N = 114 couples), we investigated emotions, physiological arousal (skin conductance responses [SCR]), and relationship closeness when narrating a personal loss and listening to the partner's loss, and compared these loss discussions to discussions about desired relationship changes. Based on partners' self-reports, narrating loss elicited more vulnerable and, unexpectedly, more antagonistic emotions. Both narrating and listening to loss produced higher self-reported partner closeness, compared to discussing change. In support of the physiological benefits of disclosure, women's SCRs decreased over the discussion when they narrated their own loss. However, both women and men as listeners show a general trend of increasing SCRs over the discussion, suggesting the challenges of being a responsive partner. Moreover, in line with the putative protective effects of partners' biological interdependencies, partner closeness also was higher when both partners showed synchronous decreasing SCR as women narrated their loss. Although limited to young couples in relatively short relationships, these findings reveal some potential benefits of talking about loss in the context of romantic relationships.

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“…Finally, research highlights the importance of caregiving to the development of intimacy. Partners’ verbal or nonverbal responsiveness, as well as their expressed support and warmth to the disclosed vulnerability, promote couple intimacy (Khalifian & Barry, 2021). Because caregiving can affect perceived intimacy, and since intimacy is a key factor in relationship satisfaction, the current study examines the mediating role of intimacy between concern caregiving and relationship satisfaction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As for couple caregiving, childhood abuse has a double-edged sword effect. On the one hand, disclosing childhood abuse to one’s partner can elicit concern and supportive caregiving, which, in turn, are likely to increase intimacy (Khalifian & Barry, 2021), and elevate marital relationship satisfaction (de Montigny Gauthier et al, 2019). However, on the other hand, non-caring and non-supportive spousal responses, even going as far as stigmatizing or treating the disclosing partner differently, were associated with both partners’ poorer relationship satisfaction among survivors of sexual (de Montigny Gauthier et al, 2019) or emotional abuse (Cao et al, 2020; Riggs, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Love With a Trauma Survivor: When a History of Childhood Abuse Interferes With Relationship Satisfaction Among Couples

Finzi-Dottan,

Gewirtz-Meydan

2023

J Interpers Violence

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To date, the majority of research examining the effect of childhood abuse on relational aspects in adulthood is almost exclusively based on intraindividual data. The current study explores a moderating-mediating model from a dyadic perspective, examining the mediating effect that perceived intimacy has on the associations between concern couple caregiving and relationship satisfaction. It further investigates whether these mediation paths are moderated by a history of childhood abuse (physical/emotional/sexual). A total of 143 nonclinical couples ( n = 286) in enduring relationships were recruited. A moderated mediation actor–partner interdependence model (moderated mediation actor-partner interdependence model (APIM)) comprised of three segments, was conducted. Results indicated that intimacy mediated the link between concern caregiving and relationship satisfaction on the actor’s level, with effects applying equally to both husbands and wives. A higher level of intimacy among husbands and wives alike is linked, in turn, with higher relationship satisfaction. The path between actors’ concern caregiving and their level of intimacy was moderated by the actors’ childhood emotional and physical abuse; specifically, concern caregiving exerts greater effect on intimacy among participants who experienced high levels of emotional abuse, or low levels of physical abuse. Our findings highlight how different types of childhood abuse affect adult romantic relationships differently.

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The relation between mindfulness and perceived partner responsiveness during couples’ vulnerability discussions.

Cited by 7 publications

References 56 publications

Relational mindfulness themes in descriptions of intimate encounters across six interpersonal contexts

Relational mindfulness themes in descriptions of intimate encounters across six interpersonal contexts

What happens when romantic couples discuss personal loss? Relational, emotional, and physiological impacts.

In Love With a Trauma Survivor: When a History of Childhood Abuse Interferes With Relationship Satisfaction Among Couples

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