Coupling Longitudinal Data and Multilevel Modeling to Examine the Antecedents and Consequences of Jealousy Experiences in Romantic Relationships: A Test of the Relational Turbulence Model

We used longitudinal data and multilevel modeling to examine how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and failed attempts at interdependence influence emotional, cognitive, and communicative responses to romantic jealousy, and how those experiences shape subsequent relationship characteristics. The relational turbulence model ( Solomon & Knobloch, 2004 ) highlights how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and interference from partners influence and reflect reactions to events that occur within romantic relationships. Drawing from the theory, we predicted that (a) relational uncertainty and interference from partners are positively associated with cognitive and emotional jealousies; (b) the intensity of romantic jealousy, relational intimacy, and a partner’s interference is positively associated with the directness of communication about jealousy; (c) relational uncertainty is negatively associated with communicative directness; and (d) cognitive jealousy, emotional jealousy, and the directness of communicative responses to jealousy influence subsequent relationship characteristics. The results of the multilevel modeling revealed mixed support for our predictions. We explore the implications of this study for research on the relational turbulence model, relationship development, and jealousy.     

Relational Turbulence Theory: Explaining Variation in Subjective Experiences and Communication Within Romantic Relationships

This essay extends the relational turbulence model as a framework for understanding communication in romantic relationships. Following the relational turbulence model, relational turbulence theory identifies relational uncertainty and interdependence as parameters that shape subjective experiences, but the theory clarifies the theoretical processes underlying their distinctive effects. In addition, relational turbulence theory articulates causal processes linking cognitive appraisals and emotions to communication. Relational turbulence theory also describes how episodes characterized by biased appraisals, intense emotions, and volatile communication coalesce into global evaluations of relationships as turbulent. In turn, the theory addresses the effect of relational turbulence on personal, relational, and social outcomes. Finally, the theory explains how communication can contribute to the development of both turbulence and resilience in romantic relationships.     

Representations of Romantic Relationships, Romantic Experience and Sexual Behavior in Adolescence

Associations between romantic views and sexual behavior were examined in a community sample of 200 high school adolescents. This study incorporated interview and self‐report measures of romantic views, assessed multiple facets of sexual behavior (frequency, rapidity, onset, and risky behavior), and examined light nongenital, heavy nongenital, and genital sexual behaviors. Avoidant romantic views were related to later onset of genital sexual behavior and less frequent sexual behavior, particularly light and heavy nongenital behaviors. Anxious views were related to more frequent sexual behavior and more risky behavior. Direct effects were found between avoidant views and light and heavy nongenital sexual frequency, and indirect effects were found between avoidant views and genital frequency, onset of heavy nongenital and genital sexual behavior.     

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.     

Self- and Partner-objectification in Romantic Relationships: Associations with Media Consumption and Relationship Satisfaction

Few studies have examined objectification in the context of romantic relationships, even though strong theoretical arguments have often made this connection. This study addresses this gap in the literature by examining whether exposure to mass media is related to self-objectification and objectification of one's partner, which in turn is hypothesized to be related to relationship and sexual satisfaction. A sample of undergraduate students (91 women and 68 men) enrolled in a university on the west coast of the United States completed self-report measures of the following variables: self-objectification, objectification of one's romantic partner, relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and exposure to objectifying media. Men reported higher levels of partner objectification than did women; there was no gender difference in self-objectification. Self- and partner-objectification were positively correlated; this correlation was especially strong for men. In regression analyses, partner-objectification was predictive of lower levels of relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, a path model revealed that consuming objectifying media is related to lowered relationship satisfaction through the variable of partner-objectification. Finally, self- and partner-objectification were related to lower levels of sexual satisfaction among men. This study provides evidence for the negative effects of objectification in the context of romantic relationships among young adults.     

The Blues of Adolescent Romance: Observed Affective Interactions in Adolescent Romantic Relationships Associated with Depressive Symptoms

We examined the associations between observed expressions of positive and negative emotions during conflict discussions and depressive symptoms during a 2-year period in a sample of 160 adolescents in 80 romantic relationships (M age?=?15.48, SD?=?1.16). Conflict discussions were coded using the 10-code Specific Affect Coding System. Depressive symptoms were assessed at the time of the observed conflict discussions (Time 1) and 2 years later (Time 2). Data were analyzed using actor–partner interdependence models. Girls’ expression of both positive and negative emotions at T1 was related to their own depressive symptoms at T2 (actor effect). Boys’ positive emotions and negative emotions (actor effect) and girls’ negative emotions (partner effect) were related to boys’ depressive symptoms at T2. Contrary to expectation, relationship break-up and relationship satisfaction were unrelated to changes in depressive symptoms or expression of negative or positive emotion during conflict discussion. These findings underscore the unique quality of adolescent romantic relationships and suggest new directions in the study of the link between mental health and romantic involvement in adolescence.     

Romantic Relationships in Emerging Adulthood: A Developmental Perspective

This phenomenography contributes towards understanding experienced realties of emerging adults in the context of romantic relationships and its consequent developmental outcomes. Thirty romantically involved emerging adults, 15 women and 15 men participated in the study. A mixed method approach using in-depth, open-ended interview guidelines and rating scales revealed that, emerging adults found these relationships more satisfying than dissatisfying. Data from both qualitative and quantitative methods revealed that romantic relationships have significant and lasting impact of an individual’s development. Both boys and girls reported a positive change in the quality of life, which included positive feelings of happiness and reducing negative states such as anger and sadness. Paradoxes and contradictions in relationship experiences and processes have been discussed and implications towards enhancing positive developmental outcomes have been indicated.     

The Cultural Closet: The South Asian American Experience of Keeping Romantic Relationships Secret

Many South Asian Americans face challenges when they are in romantic relationships outside of their racial, ethnic, or religious group. Because of values associated with dating and marriage, one challenge is disclosing the relationship to family. South Asian Americans often hide their relationships, and we propose that this experience has parallels to the closet for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. In this article, we name this experience the “cultural closet” and discuss the associated theory, context, consequences, and counseling implications. Muchos americanos surasiáticos afrontan desafíos cuando se encuentran en relaciones amorosas fuera de su grupo racial, étnico o religioso. Uno de los desafíos es revelar la relación a su familia, a causa de los valores asociados con las citas y el matrimonio. Con frecuencia, los americanos surasiáticos ocultan sus relaciones, y proponemos que esta experiencia tiene correspondencias con el armario para personas lesbianas, gais, bisexuales, transexuales y queer. En este artículo, denominamos esta experiencia el “armario cultural” y discutimos la teoría, el contexto, las consecuencias y las implicaciones para la consejería asociadas.     

The Effects of Sample Characteristics and Experience with Infidelity on Romantic Jealousy

Past research has suggested that men are more upset by imagined sexual than emotional infidelity, and women are more upset by imagined emotional infidelity than sexual infidelity. However, experience with infidelity, methodology, and age and gender of the sample may help to explain inconsistent results. Two hundred ninety-four English-speaking undergraduate students and 325 non-college adults in a large mid-Atlantic urban area of the U.S. completed forced-choice or continuous-scale anonymous questionnaires regarding jealousy over a mate??s hypothetical infidelity. Chi-square and MANOVA analyses replicated previous findings of the expected gender difference in all hypothetical forced-choice scenarios. However, results for those participants who reported experience with actual infidelity demonstrated little support for the traditional evolutionary model, as there were no gender differences in which aspect of hypothetical infidelity was reported to be more distressing, and no gender differences at the college level in terms of which aspect of infidelity received the greatest focus. These findings, extrapolated from both undergraduates and adults and accounting for the impact of actual, primed memory of experience of infidelity on hypothetical jealousy scenarios, raise important questions about the validity of hypothetical scenarios of jealousy as proxies for real reactions to actual infidelity. The results of the present study suggest that the lack of a consistent, replicable gender difference across the lifespan may be explained by two related factors: age and actual experience with infidelity.     

Gifts in a Romantic Relationship: A Survival Analysis

Employing a survival analysis approach, this study synthesizes 3 aspects of gift literature and suggests their effects on the timing of dissolution for a romantic relationship. Products or services can be consumed for the purpose of enhancing self‐attractiveness (self‐gift), expressing love to partners (other‐gift), and announcing a relationship to the outer world (joint‐gift). Results indicate that the distribution of time until dissolution for young students’ romantic relationships is more likely to first fall and then rise. Gifts can delay the timing of dissolution, but not the probability of its final destination. For female students, self‐enhancing gifts are found to delay the timing; for male students, love‐expressive gifts speed up the timing; and for both male and female students, relationship‐announcing gifts delay the timing of dissolution. Consumers, thus, are advised to use gifts to make their relationships endure, but not to attempt to alter a poor relationship into a successful one.     

Competing Contingencies Over Derived Relational Responding: A Behavioral Model of the Implicit Association Test

The Psychological Record - Subjects were exposed to a word-picture association training phase in which each of 2 arbitrary nonsense syllables printed in blue and red font, respectively, were paired...     

The Influence of Relationship Beliefs and Problem-Solving Responses on Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association among dysfunctional relationship beliefs, problem-solving responses, and satisfaction in close relationships. A survey was completed by 322 college students, each of whom was currently involved in a close heterosexual relationship. As hypothesized, dysfunctional relationship beliefs exhibited positive correlations with the destructive problem-solving responses of exit and neglect and negative correlations with the constructive problem-solving response of voice. Canonical correlation analysis suggested that individuals possessing the beliefs that disagreement is destructive and partners cannot change were likely to respond to relational problems with exit and neglect and to eschew responding with voice. Both dysfunctional beliefs and problem-solving responses were associated with relational satisfaction. However, dysfunctional beliefs failed to predict satisfaction when controlling for problem-solving responses. Support was therefore obtained for the prediction that problem-solving responses mediate the association between dysfunctional beliefs and relational satisfaction.     

The Experience of the Holy: A Relational Psychoanalytic Analysis

The title of this paper, The Experience of the Holy is a direct reference to Rudolf Otto's book Das Heilige. The paper begins with Otto because he lays out many of the important issues involved in a psychological investigation of the experience of the holy, especially the question of whether the sacred is a unique object of experience, or a characteristic of our experience of ordinary objects. The paper then discusses three contemporary relational psychoanalysts (D.W. Winnicott, Hans Loewald, and Christopher Bollas), and the ways in which their theorizing illuminates the psychology of the sacred.     

The Relational Health Indices: A Study of Women's Relationships

A new measure of women's relationships, the Relational Health Indices (RHI), comprises three scales that assess growth-fostering connections with peers, mentors, and communities. The RHI was developed using the Relational Model (Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, Surrey, 1991; Miller & Stiver, 1997), a theory of women's psychological development. The 37-item measure assesses three conceptual dimensions of growth-fostering relationships: engagement, authenticity, and empowerment/zest. This study examined the psychometric properties of the RHI with a group of 450 students at a women's liberal arts college, providing evidence for the reliability, validity, and utility of the new measure. The factor analyses confirmed a three-subscale structure: engagement, authenticity, empowerment/zest. The RHI's components generally demonstrate good overall internal consistency. Furthermore, associations between RHI scales and convergent validation scales were significant and in the direction hypothesized. Correlations with adjustment scales varied across the RHI components. The RHI has potential for enriching our understanding of important, subtle qualities and complex dynamics of both dyadic and group relationships, especially among women. The instrument is available for use by researchers interested in continuing the scale and theory development.     

Relationship Quality as Mediator of Forgiveness and Psychological Well-being among Transgressors in Romantic Relationships

Romantic relationships often blossom in college life. But relationships are not always a bed of roses. One may find themselves to be inflicting hurt towards their partner. The study aimed to explore the role of positive and negative relationship quality as the mediators of forgiveness (seeking and self) and psychological well-being in romantic relationships from the perspective of the transgressors. Data were collected from a sample of 119 college students in New Delhi, India, who have been in a romantic relationship for 6 months at least and who have hurt their partner in the past. They were administered the Seeking Forgiveness Questionnaire, Heartland Forgiveness Scale (self), Positive–Negative Relationship Quality Questionnaire and the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being. The results showed positive relationship quality to be a mediator between forgiveness (seeking and self) and psychological well-being. Additional support for this relationship was provided by the insignificant role of negative relationship quality between forgiveness (seeking and self) and psychological well-being.     

Objectification in Heterosexual Romantic Relationships: Examining Relationship Satisfaction of Female Objectification Recipients and Male Objectifying Perpetrators

Sex Roles - Sexual objectification is one of most the common manifestations of discrimination against women in Western societies; however, few studies have examined objectification in the context...     

The Mating Sociometer and Attractive Others: A Double-Edged Sword in Romantic Relationships

Eighty-one participants were recruited to test the sensitivity of the mating sociometer to mate-value feedback in the context of ongoing intimate relationships. Experiences of social rejection/acceptance by attractive opposite-sex confederates were manipulated. The effects of this manipulation on self-esteem, relationship satisfaction and commitment, perceptions of dating alternatives, and friendship-dedication were assessed. Social rejection/acceptance by members of the opposite sex altered relationship satisfaction and commitment; this causal link was amplified by changes in state self-esteem; and these effects were specific to intimate relationships and did not generalize to friendship-dedication. This research supports a domain-specific conceptualization of sociometer theory, extending the theory in important directions.     

Redemptive Experience in Relational Family Therapy: A Christian Perspective

We all long for relationships with others, because only in connecting with others can we develop our intrapsychic structure and become functional adults. We are psychologically predisposed to have a constant connection with others and are driven toward relationships with others. Our deepest yearnings are therefore devoted to building solid dialogue as the means of becoming fully human. We, therefore, consciously or unconsciously, long for a relationship where we can experience happiness, satisfaction and, above all, redemption or salvation from our dreads, miseries and unhappiness. In this article we presuppose that a therapeutic relationship, demonstrated in a psychoanalytic setting, namely in relational family therapy, can contain redemptive dimensions in which the inextinguishable longing for salvation is always present.

Display Rule Development in Romantic Relationships Emotion Management and Perceived Appropriateness of Emotions Across Relationship Stages

A laboratory study of early dating and married/cohabiting couples showed that perceived appropriateness of emotion expression was lowest for early daters' negative emotions. Partners in more developed relationships managed positive emotions less than negative emotions and less than early daters managed either negative or positive emotions. Biological sex moderated the effect of valence and relationship level on discrepancy scores, the greatest differences between stages being for males’positive emotions and females’negative emotions. A second study using partners across all stages of relationship development found evidence of a curvilinear pattern for relationship length on discrepancy scores. More management of negative emotions was reported by partners in early and later stages of relationship development. Perceived appropriateness of emotion expression was found to increase with relationship development. Females expressions of emotion were considered least appropriate in early-stage relationships. Together the results provide evidence of display rule evolution as relationships develop.     

A Test of a Revision of the Job Characteristics Model

This field study tested the GN-GO model of job growth opportunity, a modification of the job characteristics model, with dependent variables and a type of growth opportunity not hitherto investigated. As predicted by the model, employees with high growth need strength responded positively to a growth opportunity while those with low growth need strength did not. The data gave better support to the GN-GO model than to the job characteristics model.
Le champ de cette étude testa le modèle GN-GO des possibilités de promotion professionnelle, modèle modifié du job characteristics, avec des variables dépendantes et une dimension de la promotion professionnelle non encore explorée jusque là. Comme prévu par le modèle, les employés à fort désir de promotion répondent positivement à une opportunité de promotion tandis que ceux à faible désir de promotion ne le font pas. Les résultats donnent la primauté au modèle GN-GO par rapport au modèle job characteristics.