I and We- ruminative self-focus and we-ness in couples and wellbeing

Abstract

Background: A sense of We-ness in couples has been associated with better health outcomes. In contrast, ruminative self- focus is a dysfunctional emotion regulation representing a risk factor not only for mental but also physical health. The current study is investigating how rumination is associated with wellbeing in couples and whether this association is mediated by a decrease in we-ness. Methods: In this online study N=122 couples filled in questionnaires on individual and dyadic wellbeing and rumination tendencies. Furthermore, they wrote a text on their deepest thoughts and feelings regarding their romantic relationship which was analyzed with the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) in order to derive that ratio of „We“ and „I“ use in these language samples. Data were analyzed with regression based Actor Partner Interdependence Models. Findings: As expected, rumination is associated with lower levels of wellbeing and more „I“- and less „We“-talk in women writing about their relationship. These associations with language use was not significant in male partners. More „We“ talk in women in turn, was associated with better dyadic wellbeing in both partners, which was partly mediating the association between rumination and dyadic wellbeing. Discussion: Social exchange processes play an important role in the context of health and wellbeing. This study shows that dysfunctional self-focus might be in conflict with a beneficial we-focus in couples- particularly in the female sample. Further research is needed for a better understanding of the interplay of individual regulation strategies and social exchange processes.