Relationship Stress, Arguments, and Sleep Quality: A Causal Process Analysis

Abstract

Using a dyadic intensive longitudinal design, we examined bidirectional links between daily relationship tension and actigraphy-measured sleep quality and whether attachment and post-conflict recovery behavior moderated these effects. A community sample of cohabiting couples ( N = 208 dyads) completed a laboratory-based conflict discussion and a 14-day diary study of arguments and relationship stress. Each night, participants wore actigraphy monitors to assess wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO), an indicator of poor sleep quality. WASO was higher on days of especially high relationship stress but was not associated with next-day relationship stress or arguments. Attachment anxiety and avoidance exacerbated associations between more frequent arguments and higher WASO, and between higher WASO and higher next-day relationship stress. Partner conflict recovery buffered links between higher WASO and more frequent arguments, and between higher relationship stress and higher WASO. This study, one of the few to incorporate behavioral observation and actigraphy-measured sleep quality, identified novel moderators of bidirectional associations between sleep quality and relationship tension, underscoring the significance of dyadic buffering processes on sleep quality.