Stress spillover in early marriage: The role of self-regulatory depletion.

Abstract

Stress Spillover in Early Marriage:The Role of Self-Regulatory Depletion April Allen Buck, M.A.The University of Texas at Austin, 2012 Supervisor: Lisa A. NeffStressful experiences external to a marriage (e.g., work stress, finances) are often associated with poor relationship functioning and lowered marital satisfaction, a phenomenon called stress spillover. To date, however, little attention has been devoted to understanding the specific mechanisms through which stress may lead to maladaptive relationship patterns. Drawing from theories of self-regulatory depletion, it was predicted that coping with external stress is an effortful process that consumes spouses" regulatory resources, leaving spouses with less energy to effectively respond to their relationship issues. The current study relied on a sample of 171 newly-married couples to examine whether self-regulatory depletion may mediate the link between external stress and relationship well-being. Couples were asked to complete a 14-day daily diary, which assessed their daily stress, their state of self-regulatory depletion, their marital behaviors, and their daily marital appraisals. Within-person analyses revealed that, on average, couples experienced stress spillover, such that on days when their stress was higher than v usual they reported enacting more negative behaviors towards their partner and endorsed less positive appraisals of the relationship. Further evidence revealed that self-regulatory depletion accounted for a majority of these spillover effects. These findings suggest that even happy and committed couples may find it difficult to engage in adaptive relationship processes under conditions of stress.vi

Intimate Relationships in Context: Stress Spillover, Relationship Efficacy, and Relationship Satisfaction

“…Both the sources of external stress and perceived stress have proved to be significant predictors of relationship satisfaction. This finding is consistent with previous studies on married couples (Buck & Neff, 2012;Bradbury & Karney, 2010), and result trends from Bowlin's (2013) research on unmarried students. Although these two constructs are fairly similar, they are only moderately correlated (r = .31), and they assess different aspects of stress, as previously mentioned.…”

“…Stress experienced outside the relationship takes the energy and weakens partner's capacities, which can lead to internal stress in form of more conflicts, bad communication patterns, negative attributions of partner's behavior, and similar adverse interactions (Bodenmann & Shantinath, 2004;Neff & Karney, 2004;Repetti, Wang, & Saxbe, 2009). Self-regulation processes can have a buffering effect in such situations (Bodenmann & Shantinath, 2004;Buck & Neff, 2012;Neff, 2012). Thus it is not surprising that relationship efficacy (the feeling that we are able to successfully solve relationship problems and conflicts) helps us to cope with negative consequences of stress spillover, reducing e its negative influence on relationship satisfaction.…”

“…They found external stress to be associated with negative mood (Repetti, Wang, & Saxbe, 2009), social withdrawal (Repetti, 1989), more negative perceptions of relationships (Neff & Karney, 2004), more negative communication between partners (Bodenmann, 1997), diminished capacities for regular relationship maintenance and deteriorated self-regulatory skills (Buck & Neff, 2012). Also, it seems that believing in our ability to cope with stressful situations has an important role for stress spillover effects, both on an individual and dyadic level.…”

Acknowledging the elephant in the room: how stressful environmental contexts shape relationship dynamics

“…Newlywed couples reported their experiences with external stress, their feelings of depletion, and their relationship behaviors each night over a two-week period. Spouses reported greater feelings of depletion on days in which they experienced more stress outside the home, and these feelings of daily depletion accounted for increases in their argumentative behaviors in the home on high stress days [33]. Together, these studies examining how fluctuating stress levels correspond with changes in relationship behaviors highlight a crucial point: even spouses who generally exhibit good relationship functioning can find it difficult to engage in constructive relationship behaviors as their stress level rises.…”

Parenting stress in early motherhood: stress spillover and social support1

“…Life adversity constitutes the cumulative challenges posed by an individual's environment ( Monroe & Roberts, 1990 ) and may be contrasted with "stress," which is a possible reaction to life's challenges. Mothers dealing with signifi cant life events may have less time and energy to devote to parenting (e.g., Buck & Neff , 2012 ) and certain stressors may drain fi nancial resources that might otherwise be devoted to children. However, life adversity may also exert its eff ects on parenting stress through stress spillover, and there is evidence that adversity plays a causal role in the genesis of depression and anxiety ( Kendler & Gardner, 2011 ).…”