Dyadic Coping and Communication as Predictors of 10-Year Relationship Satisfaction Subgroup Trajectories in Stable Romantic Couples

Roth, Michelle; Nussbeck, Fridtjof W.; Landolt, Selina A.; Senn, Mirjam; Bradbury, Thomas N.; Weitkamp, Katharina; Bodenmann, Guy

doi:10.3390/bs15101361

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Dyadic Coping and Communication as Predictors of 10-Year Relationship Satisfaction Subgroup Trajectories in Stable Romantic Couples

by

Michelle Roth

^1,*

,

Fridtjof W. Nussbeck

²

,

Selina A. Landolt

¹,

Mirjam Senn

¹

,

Thomas N. Bradbury

³,

Katharina Weitkamp

¹ and

Guy Bodenmann

¹

Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology for Children/Adolescents and Couples/Families, University of Zurich, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland

²

Department of Psychology, Methods for Intensive Data in Psychology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany

³

Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(10), 1361; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15101361

Submission received: 15 July 2025 / Revised: 10 September 2025 / Accepted: 14 September 2025 / Published: 5 October 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Social Psychology)

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Abstract

Given the importance of relationship satisfaction and the detrimental effects of its decline in romantic couples, it is crucial to understand how relationship satisfaction develops over time in long-term stable relationships and to identify predictors that explain such long-term changes. Building upon previously identified subgroups with distinct trajectories of relationship satisfaction, our objective was to examine whether two types of relationship skills—dyadic coping and communication—predict subgroup trajectories. We followed 300 mixed-gender couples over 10 years in annual assessments and applied Dyadic Latent Class Growth models with predictors. Our results suggest that subgroups of relationship satisfaction trajectories can be differentiated by both baseline levels and changes in relationship skills. Couples with high and relatively stable satisfaction were distinguished from those with declining satisfaction primarily by baseline negative communication (women’s report) and a deterioration in dyadic coping. Couples with the lowest initial satisfaction exhibited the least beneficial relationship skills but increased their satisfaction over time, likely due to observed improvements in their skills. These findings have important public health implications, as modifiable relationship skills can be targeted in prevention, counseling, or therapy to help couples develop and sustain improvements in their relationship skills to protect their relational well-being in the long term.

Keywords: romantic couples; changes in relationship satisfaction; dyadic coping; communication; subgroup trajectories

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MDPI and ACS Style

Roth, M.; Nussbeck, F.W.; Landolt, S.A.; Senn, M.; Bradbury, T.N.; Weitkamp, K.; Bodenmann, G. Dyadic Coping and Communication as Predictors of 10-Year Relationship Satisfaction Subgroup Trajectories in Stable Romantic Couples. Behav. Sci. 2025, 15, 1361. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15101361

AMA Style

Roth M, Nussbeck FW, Landolt SA, Senn M, Bradbury TN, Weitkamp K, Bodenmann G. Dyadic Coping and Communication as Predictors of 10-Year Relationship Satisfaction Subgroup Trajectories in Stable Romantic Couples. Behavioral Sciences. 2025; 15(10):1361. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15101361

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roth, Michelle, Fridtjof W. Nussbeck, Selina A. Landolt, Mirjam Senn, Thomas N. Bradbury, Katharina Weitkamp, and Guy Bodenmann. 2025. "Dyadic Coping and Communication as Predictors of 10-Year Relationship Satisfaction Subgroup Trajectories in Stable Romantic Couples" Behavioral Sciences 15, no. 10: 1361. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15101361

APA Style

Roth, M., Nussbeck, F. W., Landolt, S. A., Senn, M., Bradbury, T. N., Weitkamp, K., & Bodenmann, G. (2025). Dyadic Coping and Communication as Predictors of 10-Year Relationship Satisfaction Subgroup Trajectories in Stable Romantic Couples. Behavioral Sciences, 15(10), 1361. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15101361

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Dyadic Coping and Communication as Predictors of 10-Year Relationship Satisfaction Subgroup Trajectories in Stable Romantic Couples

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