RESEARCH_FILE
Guy Bodenmann
University of Zurich
Known for:The Systemic-Transactional Model of dyadic coping and the Couples Coping Enhancement Training
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“Their family outranks me”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“My partner's freeze in the moment shows me they're caught between loyalties, not that I rank below their family.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Write three specific moments when your partner has shown up for you outside their family context, then notice whether you counted those as proof of anything.
Key findings
- 1997
Stress and coping in couples is fundamentally dyadic: one partner's stress signals trigger the other's coping response, and the couple's joint regulation of stress — not either partner acting alone — determines the outcome. Dyadic coping: a systemic-transactional view of stress and coping among couples: Theory and empirical findings ↗
- 2004
In a controlled trial of the Couples Coping Enhancement Training, teaching couples dyadic-coping and communication skills — not confrontational defense of one partner by the other — improved marital satisfaction and reduced marital distress. The Couples Coping Enhancement Training (CCET): A new approach to prevention of marital distress based upon stress and coping ↗
- 2015
As a co-author of a meta-analysis spanning 72 samples and 17,856 people, Bodenmann's research group found positive dyadic coping — jointly facing stress — was a stronger, more consistent predictor of relationship satisfaction than any single negative or defensive behavior. Dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction: A meta-analysis ↗