Mindful Relating: Exploring Mindfulness and Emotion Repertoires in Intimate Relationships
Karen Wachs, James V. Córdova
Journal of Marital and Family Therapy October 1, 2007 DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2007.00032.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Married couples |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The authors report that mindfulness and emotion skills were both related to marital adjustment, and that skilled emotion repertoires—identifying and communicating emotions and regulating anger expression—fully mediated the association between mindfulness and marital quality. They propose that mindfulness may contribute to relationship satisfaction by fostering these relational emotion skills. |
Abstract
This study tested the theory that mindfulness contributes to greater intimate relationship satisfaction by fostering more relationally skillful emotion repertoires. A sample of married couples was administered measures of mindful awareness, emotion skills, and marital quality. We hypothesized that mindfulness would be associated with both marital quality and partners’ emotion skills and that the association between mindfulness and marital quality would be mediated by emotion repertoire skill. Findings suggested that emotion skills and mindfulness are both related to marital adjustment, and that skilled emotion repertoires, specifically those associated with identifying and communicating emotions, as well as the regulation of anger expression, fully mediate the association between mindfulness and marital quality. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 39
- Contemplating Mindfulness at Work Journal of Management November 19, 2015
- Depression, Mindfulness, and Psilocybin: Possible Complementary Effects of Mindfulness Meditation and Psilocybin in the Treatment of Depression. A Review Frontiers in Psychiatry March 31, 2020
- The State of Dispositional Mindfulness Research Mindfulness March 18, 2022
- Benefits of Mindfulness for Parenting in Mothers of Preschoolers in Chile Frontiers in Psychology August 17, 2018
- Dispositional mindfulness, rejection sensitivity, and behavioural responses to rejection: The role of emotion regulation Australian Journal of Psychology September 25, 2018
and 34 more in the library
Cites 10
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
- Assessment of Mindfulness by Self-Report Assessment September 1, 2004
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse Psychotherapy Research March 1, 2003
and 5 more in the library