CAHSS Faculty Articles

Marital Enqing and Depression in Taiwanese Couples: The Mediating Role of Active and Passive Sacrifice

ORCID ID

0000-0002-0121-4997, 0000-0002-9486-5552, 0000-0002-3738-9158, 0000-0002-0337-5233

Publication Title

Marriage & Family Review

ISSN

1540-9635

Publication Date

2018

Abstract

Using social exchange and identity theory, the authors examined the association between marital enqing and depression in 372 Taiwanese couples, and the mediating effects of active and passive sacrifice on that association. Marital enqing is a unique form of affection toward the partner in Taiwanese couples. Data was analyzed by using the actor-partner interdependence model to test for actor and partner effects among study variables. Results indicated that husbands, who reported more marital enqing, tended to have lower levels of depression. Partner effects revealed that couples’ marital enqing decreased their spouse’s depressive symptoms. Husbands’ sacrifice behaviors mediated the association between his marital enqing and depression. However, Taiwanese wives’ sacrifice behavior did not mediate the association between her marital enqing and depression. Chinese cultural principles indeed impacted how couples in Taiwan conceptualized marital affection differently from couples in western cultures, and it provided insights into its relationships with couples’ sacrifices and relational and individual wellbeing.

DOI

10.1080/01494929.2018.1458009

Volume

55

Issue

3

First Page

199

Last Page

215

Link to Full Text
Peer Reviewed

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