Loneliness Within a Romantic Relationship: Do Gratitude and Forgiveness Moderate Between Loneliness and Relational and Sexual Well-Being?

Loneliness has a detrimental effect on relational and sexual well-being. Recent research indicates that gratitude and forgiveness are two qualities that may buffer negative factors in relationships. We examine whether these two qualities may moderate the negative association between loneliness and relational and sexual well-being. Using data from a nationally representative study of newlywed couples (N = 1,614) in the U.S. (CREATE), we evaluated whether actor and partner gratitude and forgiveness moderated the negative association between loneliness and sexual and relational well-being. Results indicated that both the husband's and wife's gratitude and forgiveness moderated the negative association between loneliness and relational well-being, but we found no moderation effect for sexual well-being. These findings may indicate that while gratitude and forgiveness protect the marriage relationship from feelings of loneliness, the sexual relationship is not protected from loneliness through forgiveness and gratitude alone. This study provides initial evidence that when spouses experience loneliness, forgiveness and gratitude may create pro-relational motivation attitudes and behaviors within the marriage relationship. Therapeutic implications are discussed.