A Labour of Love? Male and Female Partners' Emotion Work in Intimate Relationships

• Author / Creator

  Horne, Rebecca M

• Drawing on the relational developmental systems meta-model and a gender relations theoretical perspective, the present study analyzed data from 1,932 heterosexual couples from Waves 1 and 2 of the Germany Family Panel to answer three questions: (1) What are the longitudinal associations between male and female partners’ emotion work provision and relationship satisfaction? (2) Do associations among emotion work and relationship satisfaction differ between men and women? (3) Does partners’ levels of authenticity moderate associations among these focal variables? An actor-partner interdependence model revealed providing emotion work was linked to positive relationship appraisals in the future for male and female partners, and female partners’ emotion work was the strongest predictor of both partners’ relationship satisfaction. Latent variable interactions demonstrated male partners’ emotion work was linked to female partners’ heightened relationship satisfaction only when men also reported high levels of authenticity. Emotion work may be best conceptualized as a “labour of love” that builds future relationship satisfaction while under the differential “management” of authentic self-representation and gender norms of affective care for male and female partners.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Developmental theory
  • Dyadic data
  • Authenticity
  • Gender
  • Couples
  • Intimate relationships
  • Emotion work

• Graduation date

  Fall 2017

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3DN4090P

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.