Actor–Partner Associations of Mindfulness and Marital Quality After Military Deployment

• Author: Na Zhang,Osnat Zamir,Abigail H. Gewirtz
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12266
• Published date: 01 July 2017
• Date: 01 July 2017

O Z University of Minnesota and Hebrew University

A H. G  N Z University of Minnesota

Actor–Partner Associations of Mindfulness and

Marital Quality After Military Deployment

Objective: To explore dyadic associations

between mindfulness and marital quality and

gender differences in these associations—that

is, the relation of each dyad member’s mind-

fulness with his or her own marital quality and

with his or her partner’s marital quality.

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated

the benets of mindfulness for marital quality.

However, associations of mindfulness and mari-

tal quality within and between partners are still

unclear. In addition, despite marital challenges

associated with deployment to war, the bene-

ts of mindfulness for marital quality in military

couples is unknown.

Method: A sample of 228 military couples after

deployment of the male partner to recent con-

icts in Iraq or Afghanistan completed an online

survey measuring mindfulness and marital

quality.

Results: Actor–partner interdependence analy-

sis showed that for both men and women, greater

mindfulness was associated with one’s own and

one’s partner’s higher marital quality. There

were no gender differences in this pattern.

Conclusion: Mindfulness engenders intra- and

interpersonal benets for the marital system in

men and in women after deployment to war.

The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social

Welfare, The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem,

9190501, Israel (osnat.zamir@mail.huji.ac.il).

Key Words: actor–partner interdependence model (APIM),

marital quality, military,mindfulness.

Implications: The results emphasize the impor-

tance of a dyadic approach when examining the

role of mindfulness in marital or family rela-

tions, and suggest that interventions designed to

facilitate change in marital relationships in the

context of deployment may benet from integrat-

ing mindfulness-based training.

Research spanning more than 20 years has

established the contribution of mindfulness to

mental health and well-being (Brown & Ryan,

2003; Chiesa & Serretti, 2009). However, only

recently have data provided evidence of the

link between mindfulness and marital quality

(Burpee & Langer, 2005; Wachs & Cordova,

2007). This new area of investigationhas largely

focused on associations of mindfulness with an

individual’s own marital satisfaction (Gambrel

& Keeling, 2010). Still, the interpersonal bene-

ts of mindfulness for marital quality—that is,

the relationship of each dyad member’s mindful-

ness with his or her own marital quality and with

his or her partner’s marital quality—remains

understudied. The main goal of this study was to

test intra- and interspousal associations between

mindfulness and marital quality. In addition,

we sought to expand previous research by

addressing two main topics: (a) the benets of

mindfulness for marital quality after deployment

to war when couples may be coping with marital

challenges related to reintegration (Merolla,

2010) and (b) gender differences in the dyadic

associations between mindfulness and marital

quality. We addressed these research objectives

412 Family Relations 66 (July 2017): 412–424

DOI:10.1111/fare.12266