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There has been a lack of research on the Arab American population despite a noted increase in divorce and marital discord among Arabs and Arab American couples. Moreover, knowledge is limited on ways to enhance existing couple-based treatments to become more sensitive toward the unique intersection that Arab American couples are faced with. One consideration when improving treatment is to examine and better understand the negative attributions Arab American spouses make about each other's behavior, as they can be detrimental to the satisfaction of the relationship. In this study, a sample of 142 married Arab Americans were asked to complete the Relationship Attribution Measure, Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). A large portion of the participants fell within the distressed range of the DAS. Attributions, especially motivations and blame, were significant predictors of relationship satisfaction. Both causal and responsibility attributions were associated with depression, while only responsibility attributions were associated with anxiety. Results are discussed in terms of how future research and couple-based interventions can integrate cultural considerations within this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models of dyadic coping suggest that facing a stressful situation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with one's partner to meet their needs is associated with positive outcomes. This study explored dyadic coping and its association with relationship satisfaction and distress in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected online from 564 participants. Participants completed measures of dyadic coping, relationship satisfaction, COVID anxiety, and OCD, and asked to describe their experience in an open-ended question. Results showed that experiences were quite polarized. Significant gender differences and differences for couples with/without children were noted for distress and relationship satisfaction. There was a significant interaction between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction for women when predicting COVID OCD; however, post-hoc analysis showed that this interaction was only significant for women with children. The potential exponential burden that female couple members may face during COVID-19 as well as implications for intervention, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]