Neuroticism and Marital Satisfaction During the Early Years of Chinese Marriage: The Mediating Roles of Marital Attribution and Aggression

• Author: Hongjian Cao,Xiaojiao Yuan,Xiaoyi Fang,Mark Fine,Nan Zhou
• Date: 01 June 2019
• Published date: 01 June 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12356

Neuroticism and Marital Satisfaction During the

Early Years of Chinese Marriage: The Mediating

Roles of Marital Attribution and Aggression

HONGJIAN CAO*

†

XIAOJIAO YUAN

‡

MARK FINE

§

NAN ZHOU

¶

XIAOYI FANG

¶

On the basis of three annual waves of data obtained from 268 Chinese couples, we tested

an actor–partner interdependence mediation model in which spouses’ neuroticism was

linked to their own and partners’ marital satisfaction through both intraperso nal processes

(i.e., marital attribution) and interpersonal processes (i.e., marital aggression). Consider-

ing intra-and interpersonal processes simultaneously, four indirect, mediating pathw ays

were identified: Time 1 Wives’ Neuroticism ?Time 2 Wives’ Attribution or Aggression,

while controlling for Time 1 Wives’ Attribution or Aggression ?Time 3 Wives’ or Hus-

bands’ Marital Satisfaction, while controlling for Time 1 Wives’ or Husbands’ Marital Sat-

isfaction. This study not only adds to a limited body of research examining why

neuroticism is associated with conjugal well-being, but also extends prior research by

focusing on Chinese couples and utilizing a longitudinal, dyadic mediation model. Such

findings have important practical implications. Couples involving neurotic partners may

benefit from interventions based on cognitive-behavioral approaches. When working with

couples challenged by neuroticism, practitioners need to help them address dysfunctional

interactive patterns as well as distorted cognitive styles.

Keywords: Chinese Couples; Marital Satisfaction; Neuroticism; Attribution; Aggression

Fam Proc 58:478–495, 2019

Couple relationship researchers have long been interested in examining the associa-

tions between spouses’ personal characteristics and their conjugal well-being. In line

with this focus, a substantial body of research has demonstrated that individuals wit h

problematic personality traits tend to be less satisfied in marriage, more likely to experi-

ence divorce, and more difficult as spouses. Among various personality traits, meta-analy-

tic reviews have indicated that neuroticism is a particularly salient personality

*School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.

†

Psychological and Behavioral Research Center of Cantonese, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.

‡

School of Sociology and Psychology, Southwest University for Nationalities, Sichuan, China.

§

Human Development and Family Studies, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC.

¶

Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nan Zhou and Xiaoyi Fang,

Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. E-mails:

nanzhouchina@gmail.com (NZ) and fangxy@bnu.edu.cn (XF).

Preparation of this article was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of

China (No. 31571157) to Xiaoyi Fang and also a starting-up seed grant for newly introduced young schol-

ars from Guangzhou University (No. 27000503163) to Hongjian Cao.

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Family Process, Vol. 58, No. 2, 2019 ©2018 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12356

characteristic influencing couple relationship well-being (Karney & Bradbury, 1995; Mal-

ouff, Thorsteinsson, Schutte, Bhullar, & Rooke, 2010).

Neuroticism represents a general inclination to experience “distress, discomfort, and

dissatisfaction over time and regardless of the situation” (Watson & Clark, 1984, p. 483).

Individuals scoring high on this trait not only tend to “be less able to control their

impulses, and cope more poorly than others with stress” (Costa & McCrae, 1992, p. 14),

but also tend to “focus on the negative side of others and the world in general” and thus

often “have a less favorable view of self and other people” (Watson & Clark, 1984, p. 483).

Accordingly, two pathways via which neuroticism may be associated with conjugal well-

being seem warranted: (a) individuals scoring high on neuroticism are more likely to be

hostile and angry when interacting with partners under stressful circumstances and such

negativity may contribute to relationship maladjustment (i.e., a behavioral, interac tive

mechanism); and (b) individuals with higher levels of neuroticism tend to interpret rela-

tionship experiences in a more pessimistic light and thus may be particularly vulnerable

to relationship distress (i.e., a perceptual, cognitive mechanism).

Neuroticism and Marital Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Marital Attribution

In contrast to the substantial body of research testing the direct association between

neuroticism and marital well-being, examinations aimed at delineating the perceptual

mechanisms via which neuroticism is associated with marital well-being remain sparse.

Although it has been well documented that spouses high in neuroticism tend to make mal-

adaptive attributions for marital events (Karney & Bradbury, 2000; Karney, Bradbury,

Fincham, & Sullivan, 1994; McNulty, 2008), few efforts have been devoted to specifically

testing the mediating role of attribution in the association between neuroticism and mari-

tal well-being. To our knowledge, the most relevant examination to date was a cross-sec-

tional survey study by Finn, Mitte, and Neyer (2013). Based on dyadic data obtained from

210 couples and utilizing the APIMeM analytic approach, they found that: (a) neurotic

spouses tended to interpret ambiguous partner and relationship scenarios in a more nega-

tive way; (b) the negatively biased relationship-specific interpretations served as one

mechanism via which neuroticism was negatively associated with relationship satisfac-

tion; and (c) such findings remained even after controlling for spouses’ general interpreta-

tive bias.

Neuroticism and Marital Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Marital Aggression

As to the behavioral, interactive mechanisms, studies using diverse methods have con-

sistently demonstrated that spouses’ neuroticism was positively associated with the fre-

quency and intensity of aggressive behaviors they display when dealing with marital

conflicts (Hellmuth & McNulty, 2008; McNulty, 2008). Moreover, accumulating (yet a slim

body of) evidence has indicated that the negativity spouses display in daily marital inter-

actions and the dysfunctional strategies spouses utilize in conflict resolutions partly

explain why the negative associations between neuroticism and different aspects of couple

relationship well-being may occur.

In a 13-year, 4-phase longitudinal study based on dyadic data from more than 150

couples, Caughlin, Huston, and Houts (2000) found that trait anxiety (also labeled as

negative affectivity or neuroticism in other studies) was positively associated with mar-

ital dissatisfaction indirectly via marital negativity that spouses engaged in their daily

lives (e.g., showing anger by yelling or snapping). Similarly, based on 4-wave longitudi-

nal data obtained from over 400 couples using both observational and questionnaire

methods, Donnellan, Conger, and Bryant (2004) found evidence supporting that

observed negative martial interactions (e.g., hostility) partially mediated the negative

Fam. Proc., Vol. 58, June, 2019

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