Marital intimacy: Conceptualization and assessment

This paper examines the psychological literature with regard to marital intimacy, paying specific attention to the components and determinants of intimacy, its contribution to the development and maintenance of a satisfactory marital relationship, and its connection with the spousesʹ psychological well-being. Based upon a review of theoretical and empirical approaches to the conceptualization of intimacy, the authors propose a multidimensional model which includes six dimensions of intimacy: two on the individual level (authenticity and openness), three on the dyadic level (affective, cognitive, and instrumental interdependence), and one on the social group or network level (exclusiveness). The article concludes with a brief discussion of the most important instruments for the assessment of marital intimacy.