Impact of Positive and Negative Socioemotional Behaviors on Remarital Instability

We examined the trajectories of remarried couples’ ( N = 1161) positive and negative socioemotional behaviors, which reflect the expression of love versus hostility, in relation to remarital instability across the first 3 years of remarriage. The measures of behaviors included both self and partner reports. Guided by the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation model of marriage, we used multi-level modeling framework to test the proposed processes at between- and within-individual levels. Whereas self- and partner-reported positive behaviors predicted less remarital instability, self- and partner-reported negative behaviors predicted greater levels of remarital instability. Individual changes in self- and partner-reported positive behaviors related to less remarital instability and only changes in partner-reported negative behaviors were associated with increased remarital instability. Findings did not vary by gender or remarital profiles. The results provide support for the emergent distress model, suggesting that the path to remarital instability is rooted in gradually increasing negativity. Implications for practitioners are discussed.

A Dyadic Analysis of Emotion Regulation as a Moderator of Associations Between Marital Conflict and Marital Satisfaction Among First-married and Remarried Couples

We examined emotion regulation strategies as moderators of marital conflict and marital satisfaction between first-married and remarried couples. Remarried couples with a stepchild ( n = 108) and first marriage couples ( n = 111) with a child completed online surveys. Perceptions of both spouses were analyzed using actor–partner interdependence modeling. Although remarried spouses reported more marital conflict and lower marital satisfaction than first marriage spouses, emotion regulation strategies did not moderate the association between marital conflict and marital satisfaction differently for first-married and remarried couples. Expressive suppression exacerbated the negative association between marital conflict and marital satisfaction for men, and cognitive reappraisal attenuated the negative association for women. There was one partner effect; husbands’ greater cognitive reappraisal buffered the negative association between husbands’ marital conflict and wives’ marital satisfaction. Marriage order was less important than gender in how emotion regulation moderated the associations among marital conflict and marital satisfaction.

Supporting Successful Stepfathering: An Integration of the Professional Literature and Online Stepfather Reflections

Demographic data tally the prevalent numbers of stepfamilies in 21st century society, with the majority (86%) of stepfamilies involving a stepfather. However, the data also establish these families as at greater risk for dissolution than first-marrieds or remarried couples without children. Reflecting the established dynamics that promote stepfamily sustainability, this article integrates current professional knowledge with stepfathers’ web-based reflections on which clinical service providers can base their intervention strategies to facilitate positive stepfather experience and stepfamily success ( n = 77).

Receiving Amoris Laetitia

The papal exhortation Amoris Laetitia has prompted questions about the way it develops doctrine, prioritizes the Gospel value of mercy, and calls for an accompaniment of and a respect for the discerning consciences of those in “irregular situations.” In their response to these questions, bishops and theologians in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Belgium, South Africa, and Argentina offer positive and imaginative policies to embrace not only divorced and remarried couples, but all those looking for greater communion with the church.