The Mediating Role of Meaning-Based Coping Between Need for Relatedness and Romantic Relationship Quality in Married Couples: A Dyadic Approach

Abstract

Personal relationships help people stay social because they need relatedness. Close relationships affect married couples’ mental health. Relationship quality is an important actor in marriage evaluation. The study found that dyadic meaning-based coping influences married couples’ relationship quality and need for relatedness. We studied how actor–partner relatedness impacts the need for relatedness and relationship quality. APIMeM was utilized to analyze 361 married couples’ (N = 722) dyadic data. On average, women were 33.02 years old (SD = 7.83) and men 35.39 (SD = 8.29). The need for relatedness predicts relationship quality in both actor and partner impact dimensions for men and women. The concept of partner effects states that partner quality influences relationship quality based on the need for relatedness. Bridges link partners’ psychological demands and coping methods. If one partner needs relatedness and the other learns coping skills, the relationship is more likely to last.