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Self‐esteem and caregiving in romantic relationships: Self‐ and partner perceptions
Author(s) -
KNAPP DARIN J.,
DURTSCHI JARED A.,
CLIFFORD CHARITY E.,
KIMMES JONATHAN G.,
BARROSGOMES PATRICIA,
SANDBERG JONATHAN
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
personal relationships
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.81
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1475-6811
pISSN - 1350-4126
DOI - 10.1111/pere.12114
Subject(s) - psychology , romance , self esteem , perception , structural equation modeling , social psychology , developmental psychology , set (abstract data type) , statistics , mathematics , neuroscience , computer science , psychoanalysis , programming language
Abstract Self‐esteem may be associated with romantic partners' experience of emotional support and caregiving. Using a sample of 6,385 heterosexual couples in committed relationships gathered from the RELATionship Evaluation ( RELATE ) data set (see www.relate‐institute.org ), structural equation modeling was used to compare two actor–partner interdependence models examining the associations between both partners' self‐esteem and perceptions of partner caregiving responsiveness (i.e., accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement). Male and female self‐esteem was significantly related to partners' caregiving responsiveness while controlling for family‐of‐origin attachment experiences and relationship stability. Female self‐esteem was also significantly associated with females' caregiving responsiveness. These findings yield important implications, demonstrating that higher self‐esteem may be associated with improved caregiving behaviors between romantic partners. Relevant implications and future research directions are discussed.