Relationship Trajectories: A Meta-Theoretical Framework and Theoretical Applications

This article introduces a metatheoretical framework—the Relationship Trajectories Framework—that conceptualizes how human mating relationships develop across their complete time span, from the moment two people meet until the relationship ends. The framework depicts relationships as arc-shaped evaluative trajectories that vary on five dimensions: shape (which includes ascent, peak, and descent), fluctuation, threshold, composition, and density. The framework can depict single trajectories in isolation or two partners’ trajectories with respect to each other (dyadic trajectories). Two theoretical models demonstrate the generative power of the framework—the relationship coordination and strategic timing (ReCAST) model and the sociosexuality trajectory model—both of which integrate close relationships and evolutionary psychological perspectives on mating. Finally, additional examples illustrate how the framework can generate new research questions about core relationships topics.     

The Course of Childhood Anxiety Symptoms: Developmental Trajectories and Child-Related Factors in Normal Children

This three-wave longitudinal study explored developmental trajectories for various types of childhood anxiety symptoms (i.e., specific fears, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and separation anxiety) and examined how these trajectories were associated with several factors thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of anxiety. Parents of a community sample of 224 children aged 4 to 11 years repeatedly completed a standardized questionnaire of anxiety symptoms during a 2-year period. At Time 1, parents also filled out scales for measuring children’s level of behavioral inhibition (BI), internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and prosocial behaviors, while an interview was conducted with children to assess Theory-of-Mind (TOM) ability. Growth Mixture Modeling identified multiple developmental trajectories in childhood anxiety symptoms of which the ‘stable-low’ or ‘stable-medium’ reflected the normative trajectories. Further, multinomial regression analyses indicated that the higher developmental trajectories of anxiety were associated with higher levels of BI and internalizing symptoms at Time 1. In sum, results show heterogeneity in the development of anxiety symptoms and underline the importance of early prevention programs for children at high risk for developing an anxiety disorder.     

Trajectories of Adjustment to Couple Relationship Separation

To test a stress‐diathesis model of adjustment to separation, the current study describes the trajectories of different aspects of separation adjustment in people formerly married or cohabiting, and moderators of those trajectories. A convenience sample of 303 recently separated individuals (169 women; 134 men) completed assessments of their emotional attachment to the former partner, loneliness, psychological distress, and coparenting conflict at two time points 6 months apart. Multilevel modeling of the overlapping multicohort design was used to estimate the trajectories of these different aspects of adjustment as a function of time since separation, marital status, gender, presence of children from the relationship, who initiated separation, social support, and anxious attachment. Attachment to the former partner, loneliness, and psychological distress were initially high but improved markedly across the 2 years after separation, but coparenting conflict was high and stable. Adjustment problems were similar in men and women, and in those formerly married or cohabiting, except that reported coparenting conflict was higher in men than women. Low social support and high anxious attachment predicted persistent attachment to the former partner, loneliness, and psychological distress. Coparenting conflict is a common, chronic problem for many separated individuals, and individuals with certain psychological vulnerabilities also experience chronic personal distress.     

Adolescent Ego-Development Trajectories and Young Adult Relationship Outcomes

Adolescent ego-development trajectories were related to close-relationship outcomes in young adulthood. An adolescent sample completed annual measures of ego development from ages 14 through 17. The authors theoretically determined and empirically traced five ego-development trajectories reflecting stability or change. At age 25, the sample completed a close-relationship interview and consented for two peers to rate the participants'ego resiliency and hostility. Participants who followed the profound-arrest trajectory in adolescence reported more mundane sharing of experiences, more impulsive or egocentric conflict-resolution tactics, and less mature interpersonal understanding in their young adult relationships, and their young adult peers described these participants as more hostile. Participants who attained or maintained higher levels of ego development in adolescence reported more complex sharing of experiences, more collaborative conflict-resolution strategies, and greater interpersonal understanding, and their young adult peers rated them as less hostile and as more flexible.     

Reciprocal Relationships between Trajectories of Loneliness and Screen Media Use during Adolescence

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Adolescence is the peak period for loneliness. Now a ubiquitous part of the adolescent landscape, electronic screens may provide avenues for ameliorating...     

Estimating Group-Level Relationships: General Recommendations and Considerations for the Use of Intraclass Correlation Coefficients

Purpose

In this investigation, we argue for why and how available intraclass correlation coefficients and other types of reliability estimates can be employed as sample-based reliability estimates within primary and meta-analytic studies when relationships between group-level phenomena are of interest.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Group-level correlations and reliability estimates were obtained from 46 studies examining organizational climate–performance relationships. We illustrate how the group-level reliability estimates can be used to correct correlations for predictor and criterion unreliability. Procedures are presented for computing the sampling variances of individually corrected correlations that account for sampling error in the group-level reliability estimates.

Findings

Support was found for the conservative nature of meta-analytic parameter estimates when group-level reliability information is sample-based as opposed to assumed population values. In addition, our analyses indicated that conclusions about substantive relationships between group-level variables can change based on availability of sample-based reliabilities within both primary and meta-analytic studies.

Implications

Results from this study suggest that researchers should rely on sample-based meta-analytic procedures when examining the generalizability of group-level relationships. This study also demonstrates the importance of using all available reliability information and accounting for sampling error in the reliability estimates when conducting meta-analyses at the group level of analysis.

Originality/Value

This study breaks ground by systematically examining the use of intraclass correlation coefficients as reliability estimates within group-level meta-analytic studies. Furthermore, illustrative analyses provide guidance to primary and meta-analytic researchers in regard to how to correct group-level correlations for unreliability in the predictor, criterion, or both whenever and in whatever proportions the artifact information is available.

     

Self-Efficacy in Romantic Relationships: Prediction of Relationship Attitudes and Outcomes

ABSTRACT

Three studies examine discriminant and predictive validity of a self-report measure of self -efficacy in romantic relationships (Self-Efficacy in Romantic Relationships; SERR). Study 1 indicates SERR scores predict relationship anxiety and expectations of relationship success when general self-efficacy, self-esteem, social desirability, and efficacy beliefs about relating to specific relationship partners are considered. Study 2 indicates SERR scores predict later relationship satisfaction and commitment when relationship type and length are considered. Study 3 indicates that SERR scores predict later relationship outcomes when other self-efficacy indicators are considered. The SERR assesses broad feelings of relationship self-efficacy, independent of specific relationships or partners.     

Ideal Standards in Close Relationships: Their Structure and Functions

This article describes the Ideals Standards Model, which deals with the content and functions of partner and relationship ideals in intimate relationships. This model proposes that there are three distinct categories of partner ideals (warmth-loyalty, vitality-attractiveness, and status-resources), and that ideals have three distinct functions (evaluation, explanation, and regulation). The model also explains how perceived discrepancies between ideals and perceptions of one's current partner or relationship can have different consequences, depending on which of two motivating forces is active (the need to see the partner or relationship positively or the need to be accurate). Recent empirical studies that support some of the main features of the model are described.     

Life Course Trajectories of Negative and Positive Marital Experiences and Loneliness in Later Years: Exploring Differential Associations

Loneliness is relatively common among older adults in the United States, and there can be significant physical, psychological, and cognitive impairments associated with feelings of loneliness. Consequently, this study seeks to uncover determinants of loneliness, particularly the impact of couples’ negative and positive marital experiences (i.e., marital strain and strength) over the life course on loneliness in later adulthood. To accomplish this goal, an integrated analytical framework is utilized, incorporating growth curves within an actor-partner interdependence model, to capture the initial level and the rate of change in marital strain and strength over a period of 25 years (from 1991 to 2015) with a sample of 257 couples in enduring, long-term marriages. Couples first participated in the Iowa Youth and Family Project in 1989 and most recently participated in the Later Adulthood Study in 2015. The confirmatory factor analyses showed that latent constructs of marital strain and marital strength are distinct constructs. The univariate growth curve analyses showed that there were significant interindividual variations in the initial level (1991) and rate of change (1991–2015) in marital strain and marital strength for both husbands and wives. While the initial level and rate of change in perceived marital strain from 1991 to 2015 was generally of consequence for both spouses’ loneliness in 2015 (actor and partner effects), only actor effects were noted for marital strength. Findings are discussed as they relate to health policies and interventions focusing on the well-being of married couples in later life.     

Put Yourself at the Helm: Charting New Territory,Correcting Course,and Weathering the Storm of Career Trajectories

What bearing have you set you set your sights on? How do you navigate the ever-changing swells and winds of our professional landscape? Are you feeling a nebulous desire for change, that your career is not going in the direction you were expecting, worry about lack of future opportunities, or even a deep dissatisfaction in your current position? You are not alone. The formation of the Committee on Advanced Training for Certified Genetic Counselors (CATCGC) was partly in response to such sentiments, expressed within a vibrant dialogue amongst members of the genetic counseling community. The CATCGC sought to understand how genetic counselors chart courses for their careers by conducting a Decision Points exercise during a pre-conference symposium (PCS) at the 2014 NSGC Annual Education Conference. Participants were asked to identify a decision point at which they were most satisfied with their careers and one at which they were least satisfied and to describe the situation, their personal goals and intentions, any actions they took, and the outcomes. Qualitative analysis in the constructivist tradition was conducted on participants’ responses and facilitators’ notes from the PCS to explore what personal meanings were made of the decision points; twelve themes related to Career High Points, Low Points, and how genetic counselors made career transitions were identified. Using a constructivist framework, themes are presented in the context of the authors’ personal experiences, and the authors’ share their reflections on these data. We wrote this article to offer you a window into your peers’ experiences - the good, the bad, and the ugly - hoping to encourage and challenge you to reflect deeply, no matter where you are on your career journey.     

Links Between Life Course Trajectories of Family Dysfunction and Anxiety During Middle Childhood

Using data from three waves of a large Canadian data set, we examine the relationship between two middle childhood trajectory variables, family dysfunction and anxiety. We draw upon family systems theory and developmental psychopathology, while attempting to expand their boundaries by capitalizing on the strengths within both approaches. Our data treatment strategy, guided by the life course analytical framework, included separate multivariate logits to examine this relationship, with and without the extent to, which selected explanatory risk variables predicted belonging to the highest family dysfunction trajectory. We also explored possible interactions between anxiety and explanatory risk variables. Supporting our hypothesis, a prolonged duration of high doses of family dysfunction was associated with the most extreme developmental trajectories of anxious behavior during middle childhood for both boys and girls. This relationship prevailed above and beyond the influence of other correlates of family dysfunction such as marital transition, socioeconomic status, family size, and depressive symptoms experienced by the informant (mostly mothers). Specific details regarding the sample, characteristics of measures, and unspecified estimates and their standard errors per data source are available from the first author in the form of tables and figures.     

Heterotopias of Homelessness: Citizenship on the Margins

The concept of heterotopia challenges political theory, which has often focused on utopic thinking. Foucault describes a heterotopia as a heterogenous space that juxtaposes in a single real place several spaces, several sites that are in themselves incompatible. Streets, squares and parks form heterotopias when their utopic purity as public space is juxtaposed with the private spaces created by the cardboard boxes and other temporary shelters of homeless people. Since citizenship has traditionally been thought of as participation in a democratic public sphere, how do heterotopias of homelessness challenge the ideas about citizenship? Based on narrative research with homeless people in Poland, I show how the homeless conceive of their marginality. Their participation or non-participation in democracy is not hidden but, on the contrary, very visible in public spaces where they are included as excluded.     

Facing the Music: Voices from the Margins

Recent philosophy of music in the Anglophone analytic tradition has produced many fine-grained analyses of musical practices within the context of the Western fine-art tradition. It has not for the most part, however, been self-conscious about the normative implications of that orienting tradition. As a result, the achievements of recent philosophical discussions of music have been unnecessarily constricted. The way forward is to enrich the range of musical practices philosophy takes as its target of examination.     

Gender-Role Self-Stereotyping and the Relationship Between Equity and Satisfaction in Close Relationships

Gender-role self-stereotyping was investigated as a moderator of the importance of equity to satisfaction within close relationships in a sample of 204 men and women in long-term relationships. For those low in gender-role self-stereotyping, equity strongly predicted satisfaction, whereas for those higher in gender-role self-stereotyping, satisfaction was predicted by the belief that one's own relationship compared favorably with those of same-sex others. The importance of equity was also investigated by asking participants to predict how they would respond if they found themselves in an overbenefiting or underbenefiting relationship. Predicted responses to inequity were influenced by participants' sex, degree of gender-role self-stereotyping, and the type of inequity imagined. These finding are discussed in terms of the system justifying effects of gender-role stereotypes.     

Workaholism and Family Functioning: A Profile of Familial Relationships, Psychological Outcomes, and Research Considerations

This paper examines the relationship between workaholism and family functioning and the psychological outcomes of family members. A profile of the workaholic family is presented, along with an argument for family scientists and practitioners to pay more attention to this neglected area of family life. Considerations for how to address the need in family research and practice also are presented.     

Identifying Attitudes and Behaviors in Intimate Relationships: Psychometric Properties of the Relationship Evaluation and Analysis Link

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Relationship Evaluation and Analysis Link (REAL), a survey that assesses attitudes and behaviors in intimate relationships including Cognitive Complexity, Expressive/Receptive, Intimacy, Negotiative, Sexual, Self-Knowledge, and Separateness. It was designed for individuals in counseling to identify key areas of functioning in intimate relationships. Four hundred and fifty-one volunteers participated from two U.S. universities. A four-week test-retest examined the consistency of responses over time. The scales demonstrated stability over a four-week period. The factor structure yielded eight factors. The REAL is a reliable instrument that can be used for its intended purposes. Future revisions may involve reducing the number of items.