Dyadic investigations of past traumatic events and affectionate touch frequency in couples.
Details
Download: Manuscript_JFP_accepted.pdf (593.80 [Ko])
State: Public
Version: author
License: Not specified
State: Public
Version: author
License: Not specified
Serval ID
serval:BIB_68BC823A66CA
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Dyadic investigations of past traumatic events and affectionate touch frequency in couples.
Journal
Journal of Family Psychology
ISSN
1939-1293
0893-3200
0893-3200
ISSN-L
0893-3200
Publication state
Published
Issued date
10/09/2024
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Language
english
Abstract
Past traumatic events negatively affect romantic relationships, yet their impact on affectionate touch, an important predictor of psychological and relational well-being, remains unknown. In two preregistered studies with nonclinical samples, we hypothesized that traumatic events are negatively associated with affectionate touch frequency for both the victim (i.e., actor effect) and their romantic partner (i.e., partner effect). We also expected this negative link to be stronger for the people perceiving relatively low responsiveness and/or high insensitivity in their partner. We used secondary data from 70 Swiss couples in Study 1 and collected data online from 441 couples living in the United States or United Kingdom in Study 2. All couples were heterosexual, and both studies were dyadic and cross-sectional. Unlike our hypotheses, analyses with Actor-Partner Interdependence Models revealed no negative associations between past traumatic events and affectionate touch. In Study 1, we found no significant actor effects but small-sized positive partner effects of men's traumatic events on women's affectionate touch frequency. In Study 2, however, two out of three actor effects and one partner effect were positive with negligible to small sizes. Neither perceived partner responsiveness nor insensitivity had a moderating role. The association between past traumatic experiences and affectionate touch was inconsistently nonsignificant or positive but consistently nonnegative across our two studies. Our research demonstrated that past traumatic events did not inhibit individuals from expressing love and care to their partner through affectionate touch in our sample, even for varying levels of perceived partner responsiveness (insensitivity). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Keywords
traumatic events, affectionate touch, romantic couples, responsiveness, dyadic analysis
Pubmed
Funding(s)
University of Lausanne
Create date
17/09/2024 9:41
Last modification date
20/09/2024 13:36