Despite the importance of communication for relationship functioning and maintenance, even partners who love each other often struggle to communicate effectively. Although conflict is inevitable in close relationships, couples vary significantly in their capacity to resolve disagreements. Partners also often struggle to communicate support and comfort to one another in sensitive ways during stressful times. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the role of neural synchrony in empathy-associated brain regions on couples’ communication throughout social support and conflict interactions. Towards this end, the primary aim of Study 1 was to examine associations between neural synchrony in regions corresponding with perspective taking and post-conflict outcomes in couples. Expanding on Study 1, the primary purpose of Study 2 was to examine and compare effects of neural synchrony corresponding to two different forms of empathy (perspective-taking and empathic distress) on post-support outcomes in couples. Expanding on Studies 1 and 2, the primary aim of Study 3 was to capture and assess time- dependent dynamics between neural synchrony and observed behavior throughout couples’ conflict and social support interactions as they unfold. In line with this aim, I assessed concurrent associations between second-to-second neural synchrony and second-to-second observed behavior, as well as bidirectional lagged associations between neural synchrony and observed behavior across various time-intervals. Findings from the dissertation overall shed light on the complicated nature of empathy and how it may impact communication and close relationships, in which separate facets of empathy relate to communication in different ways and behave differently across various social contexts. Only thinking of empathy as a stable, trait-based construct is likely an oversimplification, as this research shows that it’s the dynamic shifts throughout communication in real time that correspond to changes in behavior. To further our knowledge regarding associations between neural synchrony in empathy-related regions and relationship functioning, future research may consider examining these associations across diverse couples using a mixed methods approach with both cross-sectional and longitudinal methods.

Popular culture is rife with messages telling couples that they alone have the power to improve their relationship. But couples are embedded in a physical and social context that can also exert both subtle and direct influence. This dissertation serves to enhance our understanding of how two external forces influence marital functioning. The first two papers examine financial resources, and the second two examine social resources. The first paper describes the challenges low-income couples face, highlighting that even when asked to report about problems within their marriage, lower-income couples describe salient problems external to their marriage (i.e., finances, children). The second paper examines differences between lower and higher income couples’ marital satisfaction trajectories, indicating that, on average, lower income couples are not less satisfied in their marriages initially, nor do they decline more quickly over time. Rather, lower income couples’ marital satisfaction fluctuates more between assessments, and there are greater differences between lower-income spouses than higher-income spouses. These two studies highlight that efforts to improve lower-income couples’ relationships should address both relational and contextual stressors targeted to specific couples at specific points in time. The third paper is a theoretical and quantitative review of the literature on social networks and relationship quality and stability. Findings from the 118 peer-reviewed studies indicate that supportive and approving social networks containing high-quality relationships are associated with better and longer-lasting relationships. However, much remains to be examined with respect to the structure of couple’s networks, longitudinal associations that clarify directionality, and moderators of these processes. The final paper examines how four-year marital satisfaction trajectories and divorce rates gathered in four independent samples of newlywed couples were predicted by the shape of couple’s courtships: 1) where couples met, 2) the length of their courtship, 3) whether spouses were friends before dating, and 4) whether partners cohabited before marriage. Across all four studies, these courtship experiences did not account for divorce, initial marital satisfaction, or slopes of satisfaction. Together, these studies offer a nuanced look at how couples’ physical and social contexts can exacerbate and buffer them from relational distress, to inform theory and practice.

Feeling connected to others, particularly our intimate partners, is closely tied to physical and mental health. Despite network theories predicting that intimate relationships influence our other social connections, and theories of intimate relationships predicting that connections to others should influence intimate partnerships, these two are rarely studied together. This dissertation demonstrates that these elements should be studied as interconnected entities influencing each other. Drawing on a variety of theoretical viewpoints and methodologies, this work consists of four interconnected chapters aimed at enhancing our understanding of how the social context impacts intimate bonds. The first chapter uses the new Social Ties and Intimate Relationships (STAIR) framework to review and synthesize research on the influence of networks on couple dynamics. I use this framework to organize a literature review of 140 peer-reviewed papers, highlighting methodological strengths and weaknesses, summarizing what scholars know about the influence of social networks on intimate relationships and vice versa, and suggesting future research directions. The second chapter addresses the impact of COVID-19 on social networks by documenting significant declines in both face-to-face and virtual interactions among a sample of mostly non-White couples living with lower incomes from before the pandemic through its first 18 months. The findings indicate that while affluent couples maintained more network relationships, especially virtually, the pandemic reduced social connections for most people even after the introduction of vaccines and the easing of distancing mandates. The third chapter addresses the finding that, although income is a known predictor of divorce, its correlation with marital satisfaction is weak. This study shows that the capacity to meet financial obligations is a more substantial predictor of marital satisfaction. Additionally, I find that the influence of financial status on satisfaction depends on how couples’ social connections are doing financially as well as how couples’ own income has changed over time. The final chapter examines whether moving homes affects couples' relationships. The analyses of this multi-study project based on interviews with nearly 700 couples during the early years of marriage suggest that moving is a normative transition that most couples navigate successfully without long-term damage to marital satisfaction.

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