The current study investigated the dyadic longitudinal interplay between neuroticism, self-esteem, and individual and shared aspects of relationship satisfaction in intimate partners. The study involved data of 141 heterosexual couples with a broad age range measured at two measurement occasions spaced 2 years apart. The analyses were based on Actor–Partner Interdependence Models and extended Common Fate Models. Regarding individual relationship satisfaction, neuroticism was found to be a predictor at the intrapersonal level, whereas self-esteem turned out to be an interpersonal outcome. Furthermore, shared relationship satisfaction predicted self-esteem 2 years later. The findings contribute to the literature by showing that relationship satisfaction can be both outcome and predictor depending on the personality trait and the model applied for dyadic data analysis.
Intimate relationships represent one of the most fundamental environmental contexts of the adult life span for shaping an individual’s development (Huston, 2000, Lang et al., 2006 and Neyer et al., in press). Relationship satisfaction can be understood as an indicator of an individual’s satisfaction with that important environmental context. It is also assumed that relationship satisfaction can appear as either an outcome or predictor with respect to individual differences such as personality traits (cf. Neyer et al., in press). This idea is based on the theory of dynamic interactionism, which postulates that interactions between the person (e.g., personality traits) and the environment (e.g., relationship satisfaction) are reciprocal (Caspi, 1998, Neyer and Asendorpf, 2001 and Neyer et al., in press).
Previous research findings have indicated that personality more strongly influences relationships than vice versa (Asendorpf and Wilpers, 1998, Neyer and Asendorpf, 2001 and Parker et al., 2012). However, we now assume that the direction of effects between personality and relationship satisfaction can vary according to the nature of the personality trait under consideration, as well as the level of dyadic analysis, which can focus on intra- or interpersonal associations. “Intrapersonal associations” (i.e., associations within individuals) and “interpersonal associations” (i.e., associations between Variable x of Person A and Variable y of Person B) methodologically and conceptually correspond to the terms “actor effects” and “partner effects,” which are usually used in the literature on the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; cf. Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006). In our manuscript, we will use the terms intra- and interpersonal associations.
Our study aimed to contrast the dyadic longitudinal association between intimate partners’ neuroticism and relationship satisfaction with the association between their self-esteem and relationship satisfaction. We focused on neuroticism and self-esteem because these two traits are substantially empirically related to each other (i.e., negative correlations; Robins, Tracy, Trzesniewski, Potter, & Gosling, 2001) but are theoretically assumed to have different antecedents and functions (Bosson and Swann, 2009 and Widiger, 2009). Furthermore, whereas neuroticism has been established as an important predictor of subsequent relationship dissatisfaction (Karney and Bradbury, 1995 and Roberts et al., 2007), the longitudinal interplay between self-esteem and relationship satisfaction is less clear. The latter circumstance might be related to the existence of competing theories about the role of self-esteem in intimate relationships. On the one hand, self-esteem can be regarded as a component of a positive self-concept that promotes a feeling of worth and acceptance in relationships (e.g., Sciangula & Morry, 2009). This perspective would favor the conceptualization of self-esteem as a predictor of relationship satisfaction. However, on the other hand, Sociometer theory postulates that self-esteem monitors feelings of social acceptance and belongingness and reflects the quality of individuals’ relationships with others (Leary, 1999a, Leary, 1999b, Leary and Baumeister, 2000 and Leary and Downs, 1995). From this perspective and considering the idea that relationship satisfaction might represent a proxy for social inclusion and relational evaluation, self-esteem would more likely function as an outcome of relationship satisfaction.
In our study, we moved several steps beyond existing research by examining the dyadic longitudinal interplay between neuroticism and self-esteem and both individual and shared aspects of relationship satisfaction (i.e., relationship climate) within heterosexual couples over 2 years. Specifically, using the developmental context of stable intimate relationships, we addressed associations of longitudinal intrapersonal and interpersonal effects in the personality–relationship transaction. The use of dyadic longitudinal analysis designs including personality as well as the relationship satisfaction of both partners has the advantage that ecologically valid indicators of the individual’s environment can be studied. In order to more precisely capture the idea of environment, we not only applied the widely used Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kenny et al., 2006) but also conducted analyses based on an extended Common Fate Model (CFM; Ledermann & Kenny, 2012). According to Ledermann and Kenny (2012), the CFM “[…] implies that two dyad members are similar to one another on a given variable due to the influence of a shared or dyadic latent variable” (p. 141). As the relationship satisfaction scores of two intimate partners are usually substantially correlated (e.g., Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 1996a), we assume that common fate modeling would operationalize a shared relationship climate.
