Reciprocal association between spousal rejection and relationship satisfaction in Pakistani married adults: a cross-lagged investigation

The current study aims to test the reciprocal model assuming that spousal rejection and relationship satisfaction are reciprocally associated over time in Pakistani married adults. For testing the reciprocal model, and three competing models (stability model, casual model, reverse model) over time, longitudinal cross-legged design is used in which self-report spousal rejection and relationship satisfaction measures have been administered on the 183 adults (n men = 78, n women = 105) across two-time points with the time lag of one year. Longitudinal path analysis provides strong support for the reciprocal model suggesting that spousal rejection at time 1 strongly predicts a decrease in relationship satisfaction at time 2 (normal causal path incorporated in the reciprocal model) whereas relationship satisfaction at time 1 predicts a decline in spousal rejection at time 2 (reverse cross-lagged path incorporated in the reciprocal model). The reciprocal model provides support for the conventional interpersonal research findings with a longitudinal dataset that spousal rejection negatively predicts relationship satisfaction over time. Further, the reciprocal model delineates that relationship satisfaction serves as a framework predicting the decrease in spousal rejection in the face of increased relationship satisfaction over time. The findings of the study provide insight to the marital/interpersonal counselors and clinicians that intervention must be focused on treating the spousal rejection and relationship satisfaction simultaneously than the conventional practices of targeting spousal rejection within the intimate relationship functioning.