Marital Relationships Research: A Narrative Review
Abstract
Tiffany Field
This narrative review of research on marital relationships research published in 2024-2025 includes papers on positive effects, risk factors for marital dissatisfaction, buffers and interventions. The positive effects include less loneliness, greater intimacy, less cognitive decline, less depression and better quality of life. Other effects include greater activity in older couples but less activity in younger couples, overweight in younger couples and better sleep. The risk factors for marital dissatisfaction include being ultrasensitive, lonely and ambivalent, having marital strain, experiencing stressors especially partner distress and being discordant on alcohol use with one's partner. The buffers include mindfulness, positive humor, cognitive function, sharing work experiences, having friends and affectionate touch. Only three intervention studies appeared including rational-emotive therapy, solutions-focused therapy and teletherapy. Methodological limitations include samples that have combined short-term and long-term marriages and same-sex and different-sex couples that would be expected to differ and the absence of seemingly obvious risk factors like sexual dysfunction and infidelity.