The relationship between autonomy, partner understanding, and intimacy in a sample of heterosexual marital relationships

The current study examined three research questions. First, do Personality, Partner Understanding, and Autonomy correlate with Intimacy? Second, does self-reported Autonomy correlate with self-reported Intimacy experienced in the marriage after controlling for Personality? Third, Does Partner Understanding correlate with the Partner Intimacy reported in the marriage after controlling for Personality? The study revealed Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Autonomy to be significantly correlated with Intimacy. Results also revealed Autonomy to be a significant predictor of Intimacy after controlling for Personality and Partner Personality. Examination of Standardized Beta Coefficients revealed Autonomy to be the strongest predictor of Intimacy among variables included in the study. Surprisingly, findings revealed Partner Understanding was not a significant predictor of Partner Intimacy after controlling for Personality and Partner Personality. One possible explanation is that Partner Understanding is a moderating variable which influences other predictors of Partner Intimacy. Limitations of this study and suggestions for further research are discussed.