Citation
Frye-Cox, Nick; Ganong, Lawrence; Jensen, Todd M.; & Coleman, Marilyn (2021). Marital Conflict and Health: The Moderating Roles of Emotion Regulation and Marriage Order. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 62(6), 450-474.Abstract
This study examined differences between first-married and remarried couples in marital conflict, physical and mental health, and the emotion regulation strategies of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Marriage order and emotional regulation strategies were examined as potential moderators of the association between marital conflict and health. Remarried couples residing with a stepchild (n = 108) and first-married couples (n = 111) residing with a child completed online surveys. For cognitive reappraisal, a moderating effect was found for wives only. Greater use of cognitive reappraisal weakened the negative association between marital conflict and mental health for first-married wives, but not for remarried wives. Expressive suppression moderated the effects of marital conflict on the physical health of husbands differently by marriage order. Among first-married husbands, higher levels of expressive suppression attenuated the positive association between marital conflict and physical health symptoms; but for remarried husbands, higher levels of expressive suppression exacerbated the positive association between marital conflict and physical health symptoms. Among wives, however, more use of expressive suppression increased the negative effects of marital conflict on mental health, regardless of marriage order. These findings underscore the importance of examining context when considering the capacity for emotion regulation strategies to moderate the link between marital conflict and health.URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2021.1925853Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2021Journal Title
Journal of Divorce & RemarriageAuthor(s)
Frye-Cox, NickGanong, Lawrence
Jensen, Todd M.
Coleman, Marilyn