Exploring associations among baseline emotion regulation and change in relationship satisfaction among couples in a randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused therapy compared to usual care.

BACKGROUND: Data from a two-arm randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused therapy (EFT) compared to usual care were used to examine whether baseline emotion regulation influences relationship satisfaction for female and male partners. This is clinically relevant as clinicians have debated whether clients' initial emotion regulation skills predict positive outcomes in EFT.

METHODS: Dyadic multilevel modeling was used to determine whether baseline emotion regulation predicted both initial levels and change in relationship satisfaction and whether that relationship differed by treatment group (i.e., EFT or usual care).

RESULTS: Baseline emotion regulation difficulties were associated with lower initial relationship satisfaction. However, baseline emotion regulation difficulties were not associated with change in relationship satisfaction over the course of treatment and this relationship did not differ by treatment group.

CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrate that partners with diverse presentations of emotion regulation at baseline may benefit from couple therapy.