A Relational Turbulence Model of Sexual Communication in Couples With Depression

Couples coping with depression are prone to unique and pervasive sexual intimacy challenges and experience troubles communicating effectively. Successful sexual communication improves sexual and relationship satisfaction, making communication particularly important for couples facing sexual difficulties. In this study, the relational turbulence model serves as a framework to examine associations between sexual communication and both sexual and relationship satisfaction in couples ( N = 106) in which one or both partners live with depression. Results of a cross-sectional survey suggest sexual communication mediates relationships between both relational uncertainty and interference from a partner with sexual/relationship satisfaction. Results illuminate functions of communication about sex as couples navigate sexual and relational effects of depression.

The Relational Turbulence Model: A Meta-Analytic Review

A series of 27 meta-analyses was conducted to synthesize theoretical predictions, to date, of the relational turbulence model (RTM), which has informed relational turbulence theory (RTT). In line with theorized predictions, 12 random-effects meta-analyses (k = 9–15; n = 1,395–5,493) confirmed that RTM variables (i.e., self uncertainty, partner uncertainty, relationship uncertainty, and partner interference), on average, correlated with topic avoidance, depressive symptoms, and relationship satisfaction. An additional 15 random-effects meta-analyses (k = 4–41; n = 930–8,975) were conducted to pool an average correlation matrix among self uncertainty, partner uncertainty, relationship uncertainty, partner interference, partner facilitation, and relational turbulence. This pooled correlation matrix was used to test a meta-analytic structural equation model of the RTM commonly specified in the literature. Global and local fit statistics indicated the meta-analytic data fit the RTM well. Collectively, these results offer empirical and theoretical evidence for the RTM across nearly 2 decades of research and provide insights for future scholarship guided by the axioms and propositions of RTT.

Sexual intimacy challenges as markers of relational turbulence in couples with depression

Using the relational turbulence model, I test a model in which relational uncertainty and interference from a partner mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and sexual intimacy challenges for couples with depression. Couples in whom one or both partners were clinically diagnosed with depression completed an online survey of closed-ended items. Results suggest depressive symptoms associate with relational uncertainty, and men’s depressive symptoms predict both their own and their partner’s interference from a partner. Interference from a partner emerged as a mediator for sexual intimacy challenges. The findings highlight partner interference as a mechanism of upheaval for couples with depression, and the results stand to help practitioners identify and mitigate sexual intimacy challenges.

Transitions in marriage

This study examines transitions in marriage by merging the frameworks of the relational turbulence model and the experiencing life transitions model. An online survey presented 208 married individuals with open-ended questions and closed-ended scales that gathered information about a particularly important transition in the respondent’s marriage, the quality of their relationship during the transition, and the strategies used to navigate the transition. Analyses, which focused on 157 participants who reported experiencing a transition in their marriage, revealed 10 categories of transitions, the most frequent of which were sparked by health issues or the death of a loved one. Type of transition demonstrated unique associations with relational uncertainty, interference from a partner, relational turbulence, and transition processing activity. Several significant associations between qualities of relational turbulence, engagement in transition processing activity, and transition valence emerged.

“Was it all smoke and mirrors?”

The present study utilizes the relational turbulence model (RTM) to illuminate adult children’s experiences of relational uncertainty and interference from partners following late-life parental divorce (LLPD). In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 25 adult children who had experienced parental divorce later in life revealed that adult children grappled with four broad themes of relational uncertainty: (a) parent–adult child relationship uncertainty, (b) parent as individual uncertainty, (c) divorce-related uncertainty, and (d) being a family uncertainty. Interference from partners was couched within adult children’s experiences of feeling caught and manifested as (a) disruptions to normative developmental stressors and (b) disruptions to maintaining family ties. The discussion highlights the theoretical implications of our results for the RTM and the larger divorce literature, along with practical recommendations to assist those grappling with LLPD.