Emotional competences and affective well-being: a study in romantic couples

Abstract

Emotional competences are related to physical and psychological health, and higher levels of affective well-being. The aim of this work is to study whether the affective well-being of one partner is influenced by both own emotional competences and those of his or her partner. 68 couples between 18 and 32 years old participated (N = 136; 52.9% women; M = 22.32 years old; DT = 3.15). Individual and couple socio-demographic characteristics, emotional competencies and affective well-being were studied. The evaluation was quantitative, it was carried out online and cross-sectional, in a sample of convenience. SPSS version 24.0 was used for descriptive analyses, bivariate correlations and linear regressions. Results indicate that affective well-being is related to own emotional competences and the emotional competences of the sentimental partner. 31.4% of the variance in well-being is explained by one's own emotional management and regulation, in conjunction with the management and regulation of one's partner. The importance of fostering emotionally competent couples as a way to increase affective well-being is discussed.