In Sync? Assessing Partners' Similarities in Comfort With Physical Affection–Sharing as a Predictor of Relationship Well‐Being

ABSTRACT Physical affection‐sharing (e.g., holding hands) is associated with better relational well‐being. But does similarity/dissimilarity in couple members' comfort with affection‐sharing also predict relationship well‐being? The current study utilized data collected from an online self‐report survey at both the individual ( n = 1832) and dyadic ( n = 86 couples) level, to assess whether partners' mean comfort with affection‐sharing, as well as their perceived/actual similarity, predicted relationship well‐being, and whether any associations varied by context (public vs. private) and/or relationship type (same‐sex vs. mixed‐sex). Considering these contextual variables may be important, as those in same‐sex relationships are less comfortable with public affection‐sharing due to ongoing stigma. Higher mean comfort with affection‐sharing was generally associated with better relationship well‐being, more strongly so in private than in public. Perceived dissimilarities in couple members' comfort with affection sharing were consistently associated with worse well‐being at the bivariate level. Results were less consistent when considering actual similarity/dissimilarity and when controlling for mean comfort levels. There were minor variations in the patterns for those in same‐sex and mixed‐sex relationships; overall, though, results were much more similar than different across relationship types.