Romantic partners often do a lot for one another. They help each other cope with difficulties, survive, and thrive together. That shared assistance contributes to their relationship satisfaction too.

Even so, the supportive exchange between romantic partners is not a business transaction. Instead, like most processes of romantic attraction, it is both practical and emotional. Thus, we don’t just mechanically reciprocate with a romantic partner; we feel and express gratitude for their efforts too. In turn, they feel grateful and express their gratitude back to us, creating a virtuous cycle of support and satisfaction.

Given that, gratitude seems to be the center of healthy and happy relationship exchanges. Furthermore, feeling and expressing gratitude might be essential to relationship satisfaction as well. Fortunately, then, more recent research on the topic is putting all those pieces together—and sharing insights into how we can make our own relationships more appreciative and satisfying.

Roth and associates (2024) surveyed 163 mixed-gender Swiss couples, exploring how each partner’s feelings and expressions of gratitude influenced their helping behaviors and relationship satisfaction. Specifically, they asked participants to report how much they helped their partner cope with stress and difficulties, along with how much gratitude their partner felt and expressed for those helping efforts. Finally, they evaluated how satisfied each partner was with their relationship overall.

Results comparing those measures........

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