The current study examined emotional skillfulness theory and the possible impact emotional skillfulness may have on martial satisfaction and the intimacy process among African Americans. Emotional skills were defined by the ability to identify and communicate emotions. Specifically, the differences between husbands’ and wives’ scores on measures of emotional skills, the relationship between participants’ self-perceived emotional skills and one’s own intimate safety and marital satisfaction, and whether intimate safety mediates between emotional skills and marital satisfaction.
Two hundred and sixty four participants (132 married couples) completed measures that assessed emotional skillfulness, marital satisfaction, and intimate safety
The results supported much of Emotional Skillfulness Theory with African American couples. No significant differences were found between husbands’ and wives’ scores on Difficulty Identifying Emotions and Difficulty Communicating Emotions. For both husbands and wives one’s own Difficulty Identifying Emotions was negatively correlated with spouses’ marital satisfaction and Intimate Safety. Husbands’ Difficulty Communicating Emotions was also negatively correlated to wives’ Marital Satisfaction and Intimate Safety; Wives’ Difficulty Communicating Emotions was negatively correlated with husbands’ marital satisfaction, but was not significantly associated with husbands’ Intimate Safety. Finally, it was found that Intimate Safety mediated between emotional skills and marital satisfaction.