Emotion Regulation and Relationship Satisfaction in Couple Therapy

What Happens Across Sessions

Bibliographic Data

ID17190858
AuthorsMin Xu (0000-0002-8940-1614, University of San Diego San Diego California USA, corresponding author), Lee N Johnson (0000-0002-4958-6917, Brigham Young University Provo Utah USA), Shayne R Anderson (0000-0001-9418-9462, Brigham Young University Provo Utah USA), Angela B Bradford (0000-0001-8385-7824, Brigham Young University Provo Utah USA), Alyssa Banford Witting (0000-0002-1530-0407, Brigham Young University Provo Utah USA)
Year2026
Volume65
Issue1
Pagese70125-e70125
Publication date2026-02-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFamily Process (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0014-7370 • E-ISSN: 1545-5300
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/famp.70125
PMID41665087
OpenAlexW7128506323
LanguageEN
References cited49

While previous studies have demonstrated significant associations between partners' emotion regulation (ER) and overall well-being, very few studies provide knowledge on ER in clinical couples, especially across couple therapy sessions. The sample consisted of 174 mixed-sex couples, predominantly white and from the western region of the United States, who attended at least the initial eight sessions of couple therapy. The current study examined the intra- and inter-personal effects of ER difficulties (i.e., lack of awareness, nonacceptance, limited strategies, and impulsivity) on the trajectory of relationship satisfaction over the initial eight sessions of couple therapy. The results provide a few important findings. First, gender differences exist in ER and relationship satisfaction. Second, across the initial eight couple therapy sessions, relationship satisfaction improves, and partners change at a similar rate (0.97 for women and 0.83 for men per session on a 100-point scale; Wald test indicated no difference between these two rates of change). Third, ER difficulties have intra- and inter-personal effects on the starting scores and rates of change in relationship satisfaction in couple therapy. It is worth noting that we found several counterintuitive positive associations between ER difficulties and relationship satisfaction, including lack of emotional awareness, nonacceptance of negative emotions, and limited regulation strategies. For clinical implications, we discussed that clinicians working with couples may find it beneficial to utilize modalities with a specific emphasis on the ER process, such as Greenberg's emotion-focused couple therapy. The need for future studies with more diverse samples was recommended

Counterintuitive · Marital Therapy · Modalities · Partner effects · Patient satisfaction · Relationship education · Sample (material) · Test (biology) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications