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Stress Crossover in Newlywed Marriage: A Longitudinal and Dyadic Perspective
Author(s) -
Neff Lisa A.,
Karney Benjamin R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00394.x
Subject(s) - intrapersonal communication , psychology , crossover , stress (linguistics) , perspective (graphical) , phenomenon , crossover study , social psychology , developmental psychology , interpersonal communication , medicine , artificial intelligence , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , physics , alternative medicine , pathology , quantum mechanics , placebo
Studies of stress and marital quality often assess stress as an intrapersonal phenomenon, examining how spouses’ stress may influence their own relationship well‐being. Yet spouses’ stress also may influence partners’ relationship evaluations, a phenomenon referred to as stress crossover. This study examined stress crossover, and conditions that may facilitate crossover, in a sample of 169 newlywed couples over 3.5 years. A significant crossover effect emerged for husbands, which was moderated by couples’ observed conflict resolution skills. For wives, a significant stress interaction emerged, such that the influence of husbands’ stress on wives’ marital satisfaction depended on wives’ own stress levels. These findings highlight the importance of a dyadic approach when examining the role of stress in marriage.