University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Fam Process. 2022 Jun;61(2):689-704. doi: 10.1111/famp.12689. Epub 2021 Jun 30.
Although accepting influence (i.e., being open to the influence of others) is considered important for couple relationships, there is a lack of empirical research on the association between accepting influence and relationship satisfaction. Moreover, research has not examined what family experiences may precede one's ability to accept influence in later romantic relationships, although life course theory and the vulnerability stress adaptation model support the notion that stressful childhood experiences may be consequential for accepting influence adaptive processes, which, in turn, can impact relationship satisfaction. This study used dyadic, couple data and an actor partner interdependence model to investigate the associations between stressful childhood experiences, accepting influence, and relationship satisfaction in a sample of 229 military couples (with one male service member and one female civilian spouse) after accounting for elements of their military context (e.g., rank, number of deployments), relationship length, and mental health. The path model also estimated the indirect effects from both partners' stressful childhood experiences to relationship satisfaction through accepting influence. Female spouses' stressful childhood experiences were associated with their perceptions of male partners' accepting influence, which, in turn, was associated with both partners' relationship satisfaction, demonstrating partial mediation. Military couples, as well as other couples in stressful contexts, may benefit from interventions that address how prior family experiences impact current accepting influence processes. Moreover, accepting influence behaviors can be a tool for couples to utilize to mitigate the possible negative consequences of their stressful circumstances on their relationship.
虽然接受影响（即，对他人的影响持开放态度）被认为对夫妻关系很重要，但关于接受影响与关系满意度之间的关联的实证研究却很少。此外，尽管生活历程理论和脆弱性-应激-适应模型支持这样一种观点，即童年期的应激性经历可能会对接受影响的适应过程产生影响，而这些过程反过来又会影响关系满意度，但研究尚未探讨是什么样的家庭经历可能会先于一个人在以后的浪漫关系中接受影响的能力。本研究使用对偶、夫妻数据和主体间相互依存模型，在考虑了其军事背景（例如，军衔、部署次数）、关系持续时间和心理健康等因素的情况下，调查了 229 对军人夫妻（一方是男性现役军人，另一方是女性平民配偶）样本中童年期应激经历、接受影响与关系满意度之间的关联。路径模型还估计了从双方的童年期应激经历到通过接受影响对关系满意度的间接影响。女性配偶的童年期应激经历与她们对男性伴侣接受影响的看法有关，而男性伴侣接受影响的看法又与双方的关系满意度有关，表明存在部分中介作用。对于处于应激环境中的军人夫妻和其他夫妻来说，可能会受益于那些针对先前的家庭经历如何影响当前接受影响过程的干预措施。此外，接受影响的行为可以成为夫妻用来减轻其应激环境对关系可能产生的负面影响的一种工具。
