Relational Support from Friends and Wives’ Family Relationships: The Role of Husbands’ Interference

Informed by Marks's three corners model, this study explored the moderating role of husbands' relational interference in the link between relational support from close friends and wives' marital and family relationship quality. Using data from 52 wives rearing school-aged children, results from a hierarchical regression analysis suggested that husbands' interference moderates the association between support from close friends and both wives' marital satisfaction and mother—child relationship quality. At low levels of interference from husbands, support from close friends is positively associated with wives' reports of marital satisfaction, and at high levels of spousal interference, support from close friends is positively associated with mother—child relationship quality. Theoretical implications for studying these processes as they co-occur across multiple close relationships are discussed