Daily external stress, internal stress, dyadic coping, and relationship functioning of Turkish couples during the COVID-19: A daily diary study

Abstract

Stressors arising from the current COVID-19 pandemic have pernicious effects on relational functioning. However, the systemic transactional model (STM) addresses the buffering role of dyadic coping in couples' relationships. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the possible buffering role of dyadic coping and investigate the negative consequences of external stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic and internal stressors on relationship satisfaction and intimacy on within- and between-person levels. Data were collected from 100 couples through daily diary questions over 14 consecutive days. The mean age for females was 32.45 years (SD = 8.11), and for males, it was 34.79 years (SD = 8.79). The findings showed several significant within-person moderation effects. Specifically, simple slope analysis revealed that the associations between internal stress and relationship satisfaction, and intimacy were positive for both partners who reported particularly more dyadic coping on a given day. Conversely, interaction effect of dyadic coping with external stress has not been found significant on within-person level. Between-person effects revealed that dyadic coping buffers the negative association between external stress and relational outcomes and the negative effect of internal stress. The current study expanded the literature of the STM of dyadic coping within the context of an acute external crisis. In line with STM predictions, couples may benefit from interventions focused on enhancing coping strategies to navigate major and minor stressors, especially during significant life challenges, thereby maintaining high relationship quality.