Journal
WESTERN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION
Volume 85, Issue 1, Pages 61-82Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/10570314.2019.1667021
Keywords
Affection; Commitment; Cuddling; Quality of Alternatives; Relational Satisfaction
Categories
Funding
- Summer Research Grant from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University
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Increasing cuddling can improve marital satisfaction and lower evaluations of alternative options, while spending more time together did not show the same effects.
This study examined the longitudinal effects of cuddling on relational quality for married couples. In a four-week experiment, 80 adults were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: increased cuddling (treatment), increased time spent together (comparison), or no change in behavior (control). Controlling for the pretest relational quality scores and changes in kissing behavior, individuals in the treatment condition reported more relational satisfaction and lower quality of alternatives after four weeks than did individuals in the comparison and control conditions. The comparison and control conditions did not differ from each other on any relational outcomes.
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