Perceived versus reported social referent approval and romantic relationship commitment and persistence

The current study examined social network influence processes on romantic relationship outcomes by obtaining the reported opinions of social referents as well as romantic relationship members’ perceptions of social network members’ opinions. Participants were 254 (151 women) college students from the United States involved in romantic relationships along with a male and female friend who all completed surveys regarding the participants’ romantic relationship. This work demonstrated that perceived normative beliefs of social network members significantly mediated the effects of reported social network approval on relationship commitment. Participants’ reports of relationship commitment were found to mediate the effect of subjective norms on relationship persistence. Along with network members’ relationship approval, participants’ satisfaction was found to predict participants’ normative beliefs.     

Adult attachment and body satisfaction. An exploration of general and specific relationship differences

The relationship between general and specific adult relationship attachment and body satisfaction was examined in a community sample of 133 women. Participants completed measures of body image (body surveillance, body-as-object esteem, and body-as-process satisfaction) and general attachment (anxiety and avoidance) and then were primed for a romantic partner or close friend relationship, after which they completed specific measures of attachment and body satisfaction. General attachment results replicated previous research. Specific attachment results demonstrated distinct differences both from general attachment and between romantic partner attachment and close friend attachment. Attachment independently predicted body satisfaction both for general and close friend measures; however, in romantic relationships, only body surveillance independently contributed to body satisfaction.     

Family approval as a constraint in dependency regulation: Evidence from Australia and Indonesia

Murray and colleagues’ dependency regulation model suggests that individuals in romantic relationships permit themselves to be emotionally dependent on a romantic partner only when they are certain they are valued by their partners. We argue that in cultures where family has a role in mate selection, family approval of the relationship provides an additional constraint on emotional dependence. Reports of relationship perceptions were collected from Australian and Indonesian individuals in dating relationships. The traditional dependency regulation model was affirmed for the Australian sample, but regulation of emotional dependence was best accounted for by both feelings of security in a partner’s affections and perceptions of approval from the partner’s family for the Indonesian sample.     

Direct and Indirect Aggression: Relationships as Social Context

The studies reported in this paper examined the effect of social context—target gender and target relationship—on reports of direct and indirect aggression. In Study 1, participants completed the Richardson Conflict Response Questionnaire (RCRQ; Richardson & Green, 2003 ), which measured their direct and indirect aggression behavior in response to anger. Participants also selected a relationship partner to complete the RCRQ with reference to their own (i.e., participants') behavior. In Study 2, participants completed the RCRQ with reference to their behavior in response to anger with a romantic partner, a same-sex friend, and an opposite-sex friend. In both studies, relationship with aggression target was an important determinant of aggression, with more direct aggression occurring in romantic relationships, and more indirect aggression occurring in friendship relationships.     

The influence of confidence on associations among personal attitudes, perceived injunctive norms, and alcohol consumption

Social norms theories hold that perceptions of the degree of approval for a behavior have a strong influence on one's private attitudes and public behavior. In particular, being more approving of drinking and perceiving peers as more approving of drinking, are strongly associated with one's own drinking. However, previous research has not considered that students may vary considerably in the confidence in their estimates of peer approval and in the confidence in their estimates of their own approval of drinking. The present research was designed to evaluate confidence as a moderator of associations among perceived injunctive norms, own attitudes, and drinking. We expected perceived injunctive norms and own attitudes would be more strongly associated with drinking among students who felt more confident in their estimates of peer approval and own attitudes. We were also interested in whether this might differ by gender. Injunctive norms and self-reported alcohol consumption were measured in a sample of 708 college students. Findings from negative binomial regression analyses supported moderation hypotheses for confidence and perceived injunction norms but not for personal attitudes. Thus, perceived injunctive norms were more strongly associated with own drinking among students who felt more confident in their estimates of friends' approval of drinking. A three-way interaction further revealed that this was primarily true among women. Implications for norms and peer influence theories as well as interventions are discussed.     

Positive crossover: Parent perceived partner responsiveness and health of youth with asthma

Romantic relationship functioning has implications that extend beyond the romantic dyad. This study tests whether a key positive aspect of relationships, perceived partner responsiveness, can cross over from parents' romantic relationships to children's health and well-being via parenting behavior. In a sample of 112 youth with asthma and their primary caregivers, when caregivers perceived higher partner responsiveness in their romantic relationship, youth experienced improved self-reported asthma symptoms, pulmonary functioning, and positive affect. The associations were robust while controlling for parents' relationship conflict and other relevant covariates, except for the pulmonary functioning outcome, which was instead predicted by parents' conflict. However, parenting behavior (i.e., positive and negative parenting) did not appear to mediate these links. This work highlights the importance of positive romantic relationship processes for youth health and well-being, emphasizing the relevance of clinical intervention work and the need to continue investigating mechanisms through which these processes may be linked.     

Gender Differences and Similarities in Strategies for Managing Conflict with Friends and Romantic Partners

Using hypothetical vignettes, we investigated the extent to which gender differences in conflict-management strategies depended on the relationship context of a same-gender friendship vs. a romantic relationship. Associations between conflict-management strategies, goals and gender-typed traits also were assessed. Men (131) and women (203) undergraduate students (19–25?years) from a state university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States participated. To assess expressive and instrumental personality traits, participants completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ; Spence and Helmreich 1978). Participants also rated their endorsement of communal and agentic goals and strategies for managing hypothetical conflicts presented in the “Peer Conflict Management Questionnaire.” This questionnaire, created for the purposes of this study, consisted of 4 vignettes that portrayed hypothetical conflicts with a friend and a romantic partner. Results showed that women were more likely than men to endorse communal strategies when managing conflict with a same-gender friend, but not with a romantic partner. Women were more likely than men to endorse agentic strategies for managing conflict with a romantic partner, but not with a same-gender friend. For conflicts with a same-gender friend, communal goals, but not expressive traits or gender, predicted communal strategy endorsement. For conflicts with a romantic partner, gender and agentic goals predicted agentic strategies; instrumental traits did not. Implications for understanding consequences of gender-typed relationship processes are discussed. The contextual specificity of gender differences and similarities are emphasized.     

What if they are right? Network approval,expectations, and relationship maintenance behaviors

This study drew on uncertainty reduction and decision‐making theories to investigate how perceptions of approval of romantic relationships from family and friends can influence romantic partners' dynamics. Using a dyadic approach, the authors examined whether expectations of a partner's behavior in the relationship mediated the associations between perceived social network approval and relationship maintenance behaviors in a sample of 137 couples. The actor–partner interdependence mediation model (APIMeM) was applied. Results showed that women's and men's perceptions of approval from their own and their partner's network were associated with their own level of expectations of their partner's behaviors. In turn, women's and men's expectations were associated with their own and their partner's maintenance behaviors.     

Performance comparisons and attachment: An investigation of competitive responses in close relationships

Two studies investigated whether affective responses to competitive performance situations are moderated by attachment style. In Study 1, participants (n= 115) imagined their reactions to a superior or inferior performance against their romantic partner or an acquaintance. Results showed that participants low in attachment avoidance, relative to those high in avoidance, indicated more positivity after an inferior performance (empathy effect) to their partners, and this finding held only in domains of high importance to the partner. In Study 2, participants (n= 53) imagined comparisons with their partner or a close friend. Low‐avoidance participants, relative to high‐avoidance participants, exhibited sympathy and empathy effects in comparisons involving their romantic partner but not those involving a friend. The findings are discussed in terms of one's model of other and perceived self–other separation, which are defined by avoidance but not anxiety.     

Attachment-related affective dynamics: differential reactivity to others' interpersonal behavior

We examined the influences of attachment orientations on within-person changes in affect as a function of perceptions of the interaction partner's agreeable behavior in interactions involving a romantic partner and other kinds of partners. Working adults reported affect, perceptions of the other person's behavior, and the relationship with the other in interpersonal events during 20 days. As expected, the within-person association between perceived partner's agreeable behavior and negative affect was stronger for individuals higher on attachment anxiety and was weaker for individuals higher on attachment avoidance. These effects were more pronounced in interactions with a romantic partner than with other persons. Findings demonstrate that attachment orientations are associated with differing within-person processes and that these processes are sensitive to kind of interaction partner.     

Behavior expectations in cross‐sex friendships,same‐sex friendships,and romantic relationships

Abstract In 2 studies, university students from the United States rated the importance of 43 behavior expectations about their cross‐sex friends, same‐sex friends and romantic partners. In Study 1, all 399 participants had a current romantic partner, whereas in Study 2, romantic partner status varied across the 165 participants. Participants always rated their expectations for romantic partners higher than for either type of friend, and expectations for behaviors promoting emotional closeness were always rated higher than expectations about behaviors promoting social companionship or relationship positivity. In Study 2, expectations for cross‐sex friends were rated lower and more similar to same‐sex friends when participants had a current romantic partner than when they did not.     

Controlled by Love: The Harmful Relational Consequences of Perceived Conditional Positive Regard

Research on conditional positive regard (CPR) has shown that this seemingly benign practice has maladaptive correlates when used by parents. However, there is no research on the correlates of this practice in romantic relationships or on the processes mediating its effects. Building on self‐determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ), three studies tested the hypothesis that perceived CPR impairs relationship quality, partly because it undermines the fulfillment of the basic psychological needs for autonomy and relatedness. Study 1 (N = 125) examined perceived CPR and relationship quality across four relationship targets: mother, father, romantic partner, and best friend. Study 2, involving romantic partners (N = 142), examined whether needs fulfillment mediated the association between perceived CPR and relationship quality. Study 3, involving romantic dyads (N = 85), also included partner reports on CPR. Across the three studies, CPR was linked with poor relationship quality between relationships, between people, and between dyadic partners. Moreover, results of Study 2 and Study 3 revealed that the inverse association between perceived CPR and relationship quality was mediated by dissatisfaction of autonomy but not relatedness. Despite its seemingly benign nature, CPR is detrimental to relationship quality, partly because it thwarts the basic need for autonomy.     

Close Relationships and Happiness Among Emerging Adults

The present investigation examined the role of multiple close relationships (mother, father, best friend, and romantic partner, if any) in happiness among emerging adults with and without a romantic partner. The results for those without a partner (n = 152) revealed that only the relationship experiences with mother and best friend were predictive of happiness. On the other hand, the findings for those with a partner (n = 159) showed that only three factors, namely mother–child relationship quality, romantic relationship quality and conflict were predictive of happiness. The results for this group also suggested that romantic relationship quality was protective of best friendship conflict; moreover, best friendship quality did not buffer the negative impact of romantic partner conflict on happiness, suggesting a less important role of best friends in happiness. In other words, the findings suggest that when emerging adults are involved in a romantic relationship, friends’ importance in happiness might be less pronounced or not pronounced at all. The results were discussed in light of the literature and suggestions were made for future research.     

Vengeance: Effects of gender,age, and religious background

Vengeance can be commonly defined as the infliction of harm in return for perceived injury or insult or as simply getting back at another person. Three hundred fifty‐three participants responded to eight hypothetical scenarios that may elicit vengeful behavior in which the offending party was either a romantic partner, a friend, a coworker, or a stranger. Participants also completed a vengeance scale and a measure of biblical literalism. Participants were most vengeful toward coworkers and least vengeful toward romantic partners. Age, religious conservatism, and gender were significant predictors of attitudes toward vengeance. Although men were more likely than women to be accepting of vengeful attitudes as measured by the vengeance scale, only age was a significant predictor of behavior in the vengeance scenarios. The current research provides a basis for a systematic investigation of vengeance within the structure of human relationships and interactions. Aggr. Behav. 27:343–350, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Influence and Selection In the Friend-adolescent Relationship: Findings from Studies of Adolescent Smoking and Drinking1

The importance of friend influence as a determinant of adolescent behavior has primarily been inferred from research that has repeatedly demonstrated the behavior of friends to be similar. Homogeneity among peers, however, could also be due to a selection process whereby adolescents choose and keep friends whose behavior is similar to their own. Most previous studies have used cross-sectional designs that cannot delineate the source of peer homogeneity; this study employed sociometric data from longitudinal research on adolescent smoking and drinking to separate and examine the selection and influence processes. Although the findings indicate some support for the friend influence model, the acquisition hypothesis from the selection model accounts for substantially more of the adolescent-friend relationship. The implications of these results for past and future research concerning the role of peers in adolescence are discussed.     

The Role of Network Support and Interference in Women's Perception of Romantic,Friend, and Parental Relationships

This study examined the association between support/interference from the best friend and closest parent to women's (a) satisfaction with the parent–daughter relationship, (b) satisfaction with the friendship, and (c) love for the romantic partner. The respondents (n = 162 females; 84% Caucasian, 1% Asian American, 10% Hispanic, 4% African American, and 1% Multiracial) completed a questionnaire packet to assess each of the factors. Results revealed that romantic love was unrelated to friend support, friend interference, or parental interference, but positively related to parental support. Parent support was a significant correlate of parent satisfaction, and a similar pattern emerged between friend support/friendship satisfaction. Further, best friend support moderated the relationship between friend interference and friendship satisfaction, such that interference was negatively related to satisfaction in low support conditions. Overall, the results suggested that network reactions to romance played a limited role in romantic affection, but were more strongly associated with network satisfaction.     

情绪分享和感知恋人回应对亲密关系满意度的影响

研究通过问卷星收集了150对异性恋情侣的情绪分享、感知恋人回应、亲密关系满意度的数据,并采用行动者-对象互依模型进行统计分析。结果显示：（1）情绪分享通过感知恋人回应的中介作用影响亲密关系满意度。女性的积极情绪分享与男性的消极情绪分享直接正向影响自身亲密关系满意度。（2）男性的积极情绪分享正向影响女性的亲密关系满意度。研究揭示了亲密关系中情绪分享和感知恋人回应对关系满意度的影响特点。     

Effects of Adult Attachment Style on the Perception and Search for Social Support

Effects of adult attachment style on the perception of and search for social support were examined. One hundred and fifty undergraduate students completed self-report scales tapping their attachment styles, the extent to which they perceive the availability of emotional and instrumental support from significant figures (father, mother, same-sex friend, opposite-sex friend, romantic partner), and the extent to which they look for instrumental and emotional assistance in times of need. Findings showed that secure persons perceived higher levels of emotional and instrumental support from the assessed figures and reported seeking more emotional and instrumental support than avoidant and ambivalent persons did. Results are discussed in the context of an attachment perspective of social support.