Physiological linkage in couples and its implications for individual and interpersonal functioning: A literature review.

Abstract

Do partners’ levels of physiological arousal become linked in close relationships? The term “physiological linkage” describes covariation between people in their moment-to-moment physiological states. The current review presents a conceptual framework to guide research on linkage in romantic relationships and discusses the potential implications of being “linked.” Evidence of linkage was found across a broad range of physiological indices and in a variety of contexts, including during laboratory-based conflict and in daily life. Four hypotheses regarding how linkage relates to individual and interpersonal functioning are evaluated: (1) co-activation of the sympathetic nervous system or hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis is “bad,” (2) moderate physiological linkage is “just right,” (3) physiological linkage is problematic if the individual or couple is overloaded, and (4) the implications of physiological linkage depend on the emotional context. We found partial support for the first hypothesis and determined that more research is needed to evaluate the remaining hypotheses. Linkage in cortisol was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction; but at the same time, linkage in multiple systems was positively associated with indices of relationship connectedness, such as the amount of time spent together and the ability to identify the emotions of one’s partner. These results suggest that linkage may confer benefits but also may put couples at risk if they become entrenched in patterns of conflict or stress. With research in this area burgeoning in recent years, this review indicates that linkage is a promising construct with applications for interventions targeting individual health and couple functioning.

Protective processes underlying the links between marital quality and physical health

“…Likewise, and possibly through accumulated experience of positive social connections [35], relationships can buffer against negative emotional experiences and facilitate the downregulation of negative emotions and stress [36,37]. Emotions help to facilitate and coordinate interactions between intimate partners, leading not only to interdependence in emotional experience [38], but also to physiological linkage between partners [39]. This linkage is likely rooted in highly dynamic dyadic interaction patterns that feature synchronization, and co- or dysregulatory dynamics, both on cognitive and physiological levels [40,41], which are indicative of health-relevant relational processes [42,43].…”

Measuring physiological influence in dyads: A guide to designing, implementing, and analyzing dyadic physiological studies.

“…Early work focused on how similarity between patients' and therapists' heart rates mapped onto behavioral processes such as rapport and antagonism (Coleman, Greenblatt, & Soloman, 1956;DiMascio, Boyd, & Greenblatt, 1957). Since that time, physiological influence has been used to study romantic couples, parent-child dyads, and newly-acquainted dyads and teams, and influence has been associated with relationship quality, individual differences like attachment, and the development of self-regulation and trust (Hill-Soderlund et al, 2008;Levenson & Gottman, 1983;Mitkidis, McGraw, Roepstorff, & Wallot, 2015;Suveg, Shaffer, & Davis, 2016; for reviews see Timmons, Margolin, & Saxbe, 2015;Palumbo et al, 2016).A primary strength of studying physiological influence in interpersonal encounters is that it allows scholars to test theoretical questions that are not testable using traditional measures of self-report or behavioral recordings alone. For example, physiological measures can provide continuous information about participants' emotional states-including those that are outside of awareness and may not be readily observable (Blascovich & Mendes, 2010); they are also not subject to the same demand effects that can bias self-reported data.…”

Does Context Matter? A Multi-Method Assessment of Affect in Adolescent Depression Across Multiple Affective Interaction Contexts

“…Fourth, the current study focused on adolescent psychophysiology, but future research would benefit from also examining parental psychophysiology. Psychophysiological attunement or coregulation (i.e., the bidirectional synchronization of physiology between two or more individuals across time; Nelson, Laurent, Bernstein, & Laurent, 2016) is a burgeoning area of research that may have implications for family interactions and adolescent outcomes (Timmons, Margolin, & Saxbe, 2015). As mentioned above, our lab is working on a new study to address the role of both adolescent and parental psychophysiology during interactions to elucidate the role depression plays in psychophysiological attunement in parent-adolescent dyads and how levels of attunement or lack thereof relate to adolescent mental health and adjustment.…”