More–than–relationship quality: A feminist new materialist analysis of relationship quality and the potential of digital couple interventions

Authors: Jacqui Gabb, Catherine Aicken, Salvatore Di Martino, Tom Witney, and Mathijs Lucassen.

Abstract: Long-established studies and scales have advanced under-standings of family function, marital satisfaction, and cou-ple relationship quality. The underpinning constructsnevertheless remain under-conceptualized and largelyremoved from the heuristic of everyday life and thedynamic of contemporary coupledom. We propose that aparadigm shift is required to sufficiently engage with thedigital worlds of 21st century intimacies. Ideas in feministnew materialism revitalize the epistemology and ontologyof relationship science. This enables a new look at howrelationship quality is manifest in and created throughhuman–technology intra–actions. The research tools offeminist new materialism are, however, typically creativeand intentionally exploratory. We demonstrate how usinga practices approach, which focuses on everyday livedexperience, facilitates investigation of multidimensionalpublic–private worlds. We deploy this to build a feministnew materialist analysis of a digital couple intervention.Through this, we develop the concept ofmore–than–relationship quality.

KEYWORDS: couple relationships, diffractive analysis, digital couple interventions,family practices, feminist new materialism, more–than–relationshipquality