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Links of Spiritual Intimacy with Observed Emotional Intimacy and Perceived Marital Quality among Couples During Their First Pregnancy

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2010, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, Psychology/Clinical.
This study explores the role that spiritual intimacy plays in marital relationships of couples who are expecting their first child. Spiritual intimacy is defined as spouses disclosing their beliefs and feelings regarding spirituality to each other and providing empathetic support about such disclosures. One hundred seventy eight married couples reported on spiritual intimacy and four areas of marital quality (i.e., use of collaboration to discuss conflict, general marital satisfaction, marital love, and spiritual satisfaction with the marriage). Each couple was also video-recorded having a ten minute conversation about their vulnerabilities related to becoming a parent to obtain a direct assessment of the degree of emotional intimacy and warmth shared by the couple. Specifically, the observed interactions were coded for each partner's use of positive self disclosure, and positive support given to partner. In addition, couples were coded on the degree of general negativity and general affection and warmth the spouses exhibited toward each other. Wife and husband self-reports of spiritual intimacy correlated with observations of greater positive support, warmth/affection and less negativity during emotionally intimate interactions, and with both spouses' self-reports of marital love and spiritual satisfaction, and wives' marital satisfaction. Spiritual intimacy also predicted unique variance for these variables after controlling for demographic variables and general religiousness. Although couple collaboration accounted for the variance of spiritual intimacy in regards to self-reported marital satisfaction, it did not explain variance in self-reports of marital love and satisfaction with the spiritual state of the relationship.
Annette Mahoney, PhD (Advisor)
Kenneth Pargament, PhD (Committee Member)
Alfred DeMaris, PhD (Committee Member)
134 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Padgett, E. A. (2010). Links of Spiritual Intimacy with Observed Emotional Intimacy and Perceived Marital Quality among Couples During Their First Pregnancy [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1280780395

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Padgett, Emily. Links of Spiritual Intimacy with Observed Emotional Intimacy and Perceived Marital Quality among Couples During Their First Pregnancy. 2010. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1280780395.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Padgett, Emily. "Links of Spiritual Intimacy with Observed Emotional Intimacy and Perceived Marital Quality among Couples During Their First Pregnancy." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1280780395

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)