The Importance of a Few Good Friends: Perceived Network Support Moderates the Association Between Daily Marital Conflict and Diurnal Cortisol

This study examined whether the extent to which spouses feel they have available and satisfying support outside their marriage buffers spouses from the potential negative physiological effects of conflict inside their marriage. Newlywed couples (N = 214 spouses) reported occurrences of marital confl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial psychological & personality science Vol. 9; no. 8; pp. 962 - 971
Main Authors Keneski, Elizabeth, Neff, Lisa A., Loving, Timothy J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.11.2018
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Connectedness
Cortisol
Friendship
Hormones
Marital relations
Marriage
Newlyweds
Physiology
Saliva
Spouses
Support networks
Well being
marital conflict
diurnal cortisol
network support
marriage
perceived social support
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Summary:This study examined whether the extent to which spouses feel they have available and satisfying support outside their marriage buffers spouses from the potential negative physiological effects of conflict inside their marriage. Newlywed couples (N = 214 spouses) reported occurrences of marital conflict in a daily diary and concurrently provided morning and evening saliva samples for the calculation of daily diurnal cortisol slopes. Extending prior work demonstrating links between marital conflict and acute cortisol responses in laboratory settings, results revealed that spouses exhibited flatter (i.e., less healthy) diurnal cortisol slopes on days of greater marital conflict. Although the quantity of spouses’ support network connections was not associated with physiological responses to conflict, the quality of perceived network support attenuated the association between daily marital conflict and diurnal cortisol slopes. Thus, maintaining a satisfying network of social connections outside a marriage may protect spouses’ well-being during periods of marital difficulty.
ISSN:1948-5506
1948-5514
DOI:10.1177/1948550617731499