When Your Emotions Drain My Flexibility: A Dyadic Analysis of Emotion Regulation, Cognitive Flexibility, and Life Satisfaction in Marriage

This study examined the dyadic effects of emotion regulation difficulties on life satisfaction, mediated by cognitive flexibility. Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), data from 404 married couples in Türkiye were analyzed. Results showed strong actor effects: for both genders, emotion regulation difficulties reduced cognitive flexibility, thereby diminishing life satisfaction. Crucially, partner effects revealed significant gender asymmetry. Men’s emotion regulation difficulties directly constrained women’s cognitive flexibility and indirectly decreased their life satisfaction. In contrast, women’s difficulties did not similarly impact men. These findings highlight the need for couples therapy to address emotion regulation as a shared relational responsibility.