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The Associations of Dyadic Coping and Relationship Satisfaction Vary between and within Nations: A 35-Nation Study
Objective:Theoriesabouthowcoupleshelpeachothertocopewithstress,suchasthesystemictransactionalmodelofdyadiccoping,suggestthattheculturalcontextinwhichcouplesliveinfluenceshowtheircopingbehavioraffectstheirrelationshipsatisfaction.Incontrasttothetheoreticalassumptions,arecentmeta-analysisprovidesevidencethatneitherculture,norgender,influencestheassociationbetweendyadiccopingandrelationshipsatisfaction,atleastbasedontheirsamplesofcoupleslivinginNorthAmericaandWestEurope.Thus,itisanopenquestionswhetherthetheoreticalassumptionsofculturalinfluencesarefalseorwhetherculturalinfluencesoncouplebehaviorjustoccurinculturesoutsideoftheWesternworld.Method:Inordertoexaminetheculturalinfluence,usingasampleofmarriedindividuals(N=7973)from35nations,weusedmultilevelmodelingtotestwhetherthepositiveassociationbetweendyadiccopingandrelationshipsatisfactionvariesacrossnationsandwhethergendermightmoderatetheassociation.Results:Resultsrevealthattheassociationbetweendyadiccopingandrelationshipsatisfactionvariesbetweennations.Inaddition,resultsshowthatinsomenationstheassociationishigherformenandinothernationsitishigherforwomen.Conclusions:Culturalandgenderdifferencesacrosstheglobeinfluencehowcouples’copingbehavioraffectsrelationshipoutcomes.Thiscrucialfindingindicatesthatcouplerelationshipeducationprogramsandinterventionsneedtobeculturallyadapted,asskilltrainingssuchasdyadiccopingleadtodifferentialeffectsonrelationshipsatisfactionbasedonthecultureinwhichcoupleslive.