%0 Journal Article
%T A labor of love? Emotion work in intimate relationships
%A Matthew D. Johnson
%A Rebecca M. Horne
%J Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
%@ 1460-3608
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0265407518756779
%X Drawing on relational developmental systems and gender relations perspectives, this study analyzed data from 1,932 heterosexual couples from Waves 1 and 2 of the German Family Panel to answer three questions: (1) What are the longitudinal associations between male and female partners¡¯ emotion work provision and relationship satisfaction? (2) Are there gender differences in associations between emotion work and relationship satisfaction? (3) Does autonomy moderate associations among these focal variables? An actor¨Cpartner interdependence model revealed emotion work was linked to heightened future relationship satisfaction, and female partners¡¯ emotion work was the strongest predictor of both partners¡¯ relationship satisfaction. Latent variable interactions demonstrated male partners¡¯ emotion work was linked to female partners¡¯ heightened relationship satisfaction only when men also reported high levels of autonomy. Emotion work may be a ¡°labor of love¡± that builds future relationship satisfaction while under the differential ¡°management¡± of autonomous self-representation and gender norms of affective care
%K Autonomy
%K developmental theory
%K dyadic data
%K emotion work
%K gender
%K intimate relationships
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0265407518756779